Guilty Until Proven Innocent
by TheGuineapig3
Summary: "Crimes against humanity"- these are the charges that the Ruvinigald government has mounted against a young noblewoman, and Lina Inverse has been called in to crack the case. But as contradictory evidence surfaces, the line between guilty and innocent begins to blur and Lina and her friends must pick a side. When good and evil are indistinguishable, how does a hero choose? LG, AZ
1. Crimes Against Chicken Wings

Hello, and welcome! I've had this fanfiction in the works for a while now, and I'm very excited to share it with you. This story is **not within my previous continuity **and therefore has **no relation to any of my previous fanfictions**. So whether you've read some of my stories before or are a new friend, you're welcome to pick up the story with no required knowledge, save for the events of the _Slayers_ anime, particularly REVOLUTION_, _as that is the season around which this is mostly based. As always, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>1- Crimes Against Chicken Wings<strong>

_A cold wind blew through the courtyard. Abandoned buildings in the dead of winter were the last place one could expect to find warmth, but this castle's current inhabitants weren't worried about the cold. _

_The visitor, on the other hand, seemed _very_ worried about the cold._

_It wasn't that the boy's coat wasn't thick enough, but the rain had waterlogged it and the weight was dragging him down. A long ponytail of blond hair was plastered to his back, and he had a bag slung over one shoulder. His most precious cargo was not in the bag, though, but cradled in his arms. He bowed, pressing his nose to the frigid stone floor._

"_Please…" he murmured. "…I beg of you. You've _got_ to help me."_

_The two figures glanced at one another. The one on the right was a tall beastman, but the second was a tiny animal, and he was perched on the table next to his companion._

"_What is this favor, anyway?" the small animal asked._

"_Th-th-th-" The boy's teeth chattered as he spoke. "-this…" He set the sword he was carrying onto the floor and pushed it forward. "…I need you to make a copy of this."_

"_That's…" the small animal breathed. _

"_It's the legendary Sword of Light." The beastman finished the sentence for him._

_The little animal jumped off the table and scurried over to the sword, examining it closely. "Where did you get this?" he asked the boy._

"_I won't lie. I stole it." the boy answered. "It was in the wrong hands. I had to. If they kept it, th-then…"_

"_But then why do you want a copy? What makes you think we can even do that?" the Beastman approached his companion and the boy, picking up the sword and examining it as well._

"_Aren't you the ones… who possess knowledge from the magical city of Sairaag? Please, oh please, the people I stole the sword from are out to get me. If they find me, they'll kill me. I don't want to give them the real thing back, but if I don't… you understand?"_

"_But to make a copy of a magical sword like this? That's a tall order." The little animal jumped onto his companion's shoulder._

"_I'll pay you!" The blond boy pulled out a bag of gold coins. His fingers were numb and he had a hard time unlacing the bag. It split open and the coins scattered out onto the floor. "I'm sorry. I heard you were collecting money for some kind of medical research. It's no object- you can have all of this."_

_The small animal narrowed his eyes. "Did you steal this too?"_

"_Does that matter?"_

"_Please give us a moment to talk this over."_

_The boy nodded, beginning to collect the coins from the floor. The beastman and the tiny animal stepped away, arguing as they moved._

"_You're the Black Magic expert, prince. Can you make a copy of that?"_

"_I can try. I just don't like the idea of accepting stolen money."_

"_The boy said it was in the wrong hands, didn't he? What do you think the original owners would have done with it? We'll take the money and use it to fund medical research to help many people."_

"_But stealing is stealing."_

"_If you don't do this favor for him, that boy might die. He's no more than a child. Can't be more than fifteen or sixteen. Would you wish that for anyone?"_

_The little animal turned away with a sigh. He jumped off his companion's shoulder and hopped over to where the boy was tying up the bag of coins again. _

"_Listen, kid. I'm going to do what I can to help you. I'll accept the money, but only half at first. I'll take the other half after you present the fake sword to those people who're chasing you. That way I have some- kid? _Kid?_"_

_The boy had passed out. Whether it was from the cold or fatigue, the beastman and the little animal weren't sure. The beastman took the boy somewhere safe and warmer for the time being, while the animal began examining the Sword of Light. _

_He had a job to do, and the sooner he got it done, the better_

* * *

><p>"Would it be bad manners to take food off Gourry's plate while he's in the washroom? Part of me wants to say yes…" Lina murmured to herself, tossing a glance toward the empty seat next to her. "…and an even bigger part of me wants to say no."<p>

Before the former part of her conscience could drown out the latter with sympathy for her companion, she snatched up all of the chicken wings and moved them to her side of the table. A slight twinge of remorse caused her to pick one- the smallest, of course- and return it to Gourry's plate, but the rest she began eating right away.

This particular tavern was too quiet, at least as far as taverns went, but Lina had read about it in a food journal and couldn't pass up the opportunity for their delicious home cooking. What had begun as a party platter meant to feed a group of twelve had been reduced to nothing more than crumbs and residual smudges of mashed potatoes and gravy, all thanks to Lina and Gourry's appetites.

_I wonder what's on the dessert menu,_ Lina mused, gnawing on her spoils. _I read that this place has a great bread pudding, complete with the best caramel sauce this side of-_

"Excuse me."

If the tavern had been any louder, Lina wouldn't even have been able to hear the woman's voice. She turned to look up and noticed a young woman, perhaps around Gourry's age, staring at her pensively. Lina made eye contact as if to encourage the woman to speak more, but she stayed quiet.

"…can I help you?" Lina asked finally.

"I-I'm sorry!" The woman gave a quick bow and then brushed her dark hair out of her face. "My name is Meg, and I represent Inspector Maximilian de Morrigan, of the Ruvinigald Kingdom. I'm here to speak to… uh… Lina Inverse…"

"Ruvinigald?" Lina frowned. "What does the Ruvinigald Kingdom want with me _this_ time?"

"_This_ time? I'm afraid I don't understand. My orders were only to-"

"Hey, Lina! Who's this?"

Meg turned around and found herself standing directly in front of a tall swordsman. Her eyes flew up to his face and she screamed, jumping backwards a few steps and knocking over a chair. She tripped and almost fell over, but Gourry swooped in and caught her.

"Whoa! Are you alright, Miss? I didn't mean to startle you, I just-"

By this time, the whole restaurant was watching to see what had just happened. Gourry still had Meg in his arms and was looking over her to make sure she wasn't injured.

"O-oh no! I'm so, so sorry!" She looked as though she were going to cry. "I didn't mean to scream. You spooked me, appearing all of a sudden like that."

Gourry let go of Meg, allowing her to steady herself against the table while he picked up the chair she'd knocked over. Lina stood up and waved her hands toward the rest of the patrons.

"Alright, go back to your dinners. There's nothing to see here."

Gourry sat down in his spot and invited Meg to sit down across the table from him. "Who did you say you were again?"

"My name is Meg. I'm so dreadfully sorry about all that commotion- I don't know what got into me."

"It's fine, no problem." Lina waved a hand dismissively. "Just keep talking. Didn't you say you were from the Ruvinigald Kingdom? What do you want with me?"

"W-well…" Meg stammered. "Inspector Morrigan said that it was imperative that we locate you, Miss Lina, and-"

"You're not trying to arrest me, are you?" Lina stood up again, slapping one hand on the table. "If you think that's what's going to happen, you've got another thing coming! I'm going to resist arrest to the best of my-"

"Miss Lina, please! What are you talking about?" Meg interrupted. "W-we have no intention of arresting you…"

There was a pause. Lina noticed Meg squirming in her seat, and then that the outburst had drawn the attention of the restaurant patrons once again.

"…I… don't like being the center of attention…" Meg murmured quietly.

Lina quickly put on an innocent act. "Ha-haha, don't worry everybody. We're just having some fun. This is all a long-running joke, right guys? Hahaha!"

Gourry gave a sigh and rolled his eyes, and Lina elbowed him in response. She sat down, making sure that everyone had turned back to their own tables again. "So, if you're not here to arrest me, what _are _you here for?"

"W-we… have a job for you." Meg replied, wringing her hands. "Er, I mean, a job _offer_ for you. What I mean to say is, we need your help.

"My help?"

"Inspector Morrigan wants to meet with you. He's in the city now, working a job at border control."

"So that's how he found us, huh? He heard that we had entered Dils through this particular gate?"

"Please, Miss Lina. It's urgent that we receive your help with this. If you could meet us at the border office tomorrow morning, we would be so appreciative." Meg stood up and rummaged through her bag to find something in particular. "Here. Read through this before you come. It should make things a little more clear."

Lina took the folder from Meg, placing it on the table beside her plate. "Okay, I suppose that's fine. But just because I've agreed to meet doesn't mean I've agreed to the job. I only work for a good price, you know."

"We understand. Thank you for your time."

Gourry watched Meg leave, but Lina had already cracked open the file folder and was browsing the data.

"An arrest warrant?" Lina spoke, pulling out her spectacles to examine the fine print. "Are they asking me to catch a criminal or something?"

"What's it say?" Gourry asked, leaning over her shoulder.

"It's an arrest warrant on the grounds of-" Lina's finger traced down the page until she reached the spot where the offences were listed. There was only one written down, but it caught Lina off-guard. Her mouth hung open for a few seconds, staring in horror at the words on the page.

Gourry blinked confusedly. "Crimes against humanity? What does that mean?"

"_Crimes against humanity_ is the Sorcerers' Guild's way of referring to the unethical, illegal experimentation on human test subjects." Lina looked up at her companion with a grave expression. "That's an offense punishable by _death_, Gourry."

"Who's the criminal?"

"Some Ruvinigald noble… Lady Adelaide, it says. Never heard of her."

"This profile on her says that she's only eighteen years old."

Lina snapped to attention, grabbing the paper Gourry had taken from her. "What? Are you kidding me? They'd never… they'd never give the death penalty to someone so young."

"What evidence do they have to substantiate the arrest?"

"Let's see…" Lina glanced back down at the document. "…there's not enough here. Suspicious behavior is all that's listed. That's not enough for an arrest warrant- why is this even filled out?"

"It's not dated or signed. Maybe they're looking to get more evidence first." Gourry pointed out.

"That must be it. They need more evidence, so they're going to ask me to snoop around for them." Lina groaned and leaned back in her chair. "Lucky me."

"Are you sure you want to get involved in all this? Sounds dangerous."

"We've dealt with these types before." Lina waved one hand dismissively. "Halcyform, Gioconda… come to think of it, I wonder if this is at all connected to Gioconda. She was Ruvinigald nobility too, after all."

"Gioconda… Gioconda…" Gourry spoke the name a few times . "Wasn't she… the old hag who proposed to me in the middle of a swordfight?" He shuddered. "That's up there among the strangest things opponents have said to me during battle_._"

"Oh?" Lina sat up. "What are some of the others?"

Gourry glanced around uneasily and then lowered his voice. "I'll tell you later, when we're not in a public place."

"Fine, fine." Lina sighed and placed the papers neatly back into the folder. "We can talk about this later. Flag down the waiter, will you? I think it's about time we ordered dessert. I hear this place has a great bread pudding- your favorite."

"Oh boy!" Gourry exclaimed excitedly. "I'll call the waiter over just as soon as I finish my-" His eyes fell down to his plate which, before he'd left the table, had been filled with food. "-…_Lina_, what happened to all of my chicken wings?"

"I, uh, thought you were finished." Lina shrugged with an innocent smile. "Sorry?"

"When I say 'I'll be right back' while pointing to my plate, _what does that imply?_"

"These things are up for interpretation, you know?"

"LIIIIINAAAAAAA-"

* * *

><p>Dils had really stepped up its border control in the recent years, considering how the political turmoil in the Alliance of Coastal States had been affecting the states' border with Ralteague. Having Taforashia suddenly rejoin as an independent country had changed the way that some of the coastal states did business, and not everyone was happy with it. There were a lot of treaties to be made and decisions about where Taforashia's exports, particularly its coveted lumber, were going to end up was a major subject of contention among politicians. Lina and Gourry had made a point to stay out of it, but sometimes there were major international changes that even they couldn't avoid.<p>

"Have a seat in the lobby. Inspector Morrigan will see you shortly." The secretary at the desk directed Lina and Gourry to some chairs where they sat down. Gourry was tired and in somewhat of a daze, giving the man a wave and a pleasant smile, but Lina was unhappy with the whole thing.

"…he was the one to ask us to visit. Why should we have to wait? I swear, I can't stand the Ruvinigald people-"

"Miss Lina Inverse?"

Lina stopped mid-sentence and twirled around. A young man with a dark, bushy moustache approached her with a welcoming gesture. She looked him over, examining his face and how he was dressed, and immediately assumed him to be Inspector Morrigan. It surprised Lina how young he was. She'd been expecting some old codger, but this man couldn't have been far past her own age. What a shame- he might've been handsome if it hadn't been for the small animal that had seemingly crawled onto his face and died there.

"Inspector Morrigan?" Lina asked.

"What a pleasure to meet you!" Morrigan grabbed her hand and shook it up and down many more times than Lina thought necessary. "It's an honor to meet the sorceress who helped to defeat the demon beast Zanaffar. My mentor, Inspector Freion, has spoken so highly of you."

"Is that… so?" Lina murmured incredulously, hoping that he would let go of her hand sometime soon. His palms were sweaty- ick! "I'm glad to hear it. Now, about this job-"

"Yes! Please, step into the office here where we can talk privately. Bring your- um," He glanced over at Gourry.

"Bodyguard." Lina provided.

"Thank you. Bring your bodyguard."

Lina and Gourry followed the man down a short hallway. Gourry bent down to complain to Lina, his mouth drawn into a pout.

"I helped defeat the Zanifeer too, y'know. What about my Sword of Light?"

"It was Pokota's replica." Lina replied. "But, yeah. I guess you were important."

"You _guess_?"

"Oh, Miss Lina! Mister Gabriev- I'm so glad you could make it!"

Lina recognized the voice from the previous day. Meg was sitting behind the desk, but her head was hidden behind a stack of papers. The office was small, and the two chairs that Morrigan directed them to were even smaller. Lina, with her petite frame, was able to sit comfortably, but Gourry barely squeezed into the seat and had to fold up his legs against the desk. Lina pulled out the folder of papers that they'd given her and handed them back to Morrigan.

"Have you read through the information?" the inspector asked, taking the folder and leafing through it to make sure that all the papers were still there.

"Yes." Lina nodded. "My bodyguard and I went over all the details last night and discussed it. I assume you want us to dig up some information on this Lady Adelaide that you're bent on arresting?"

"That's right." Morrigan placed the folder on top of a pile of papers, and the pile swayed back and forth, almost toppling over in the process. Meg reached out and skillfully steadied it, but the inspector didn't acknowledge her. "We have good reason to believe that Lady Adelaide has been carrying out illegal and unethical experiments, and, as she is a Ruvinigald citizen, it is our duty to investigate and prosecute her."

"Yeah, I got that from the papers." Lina replied. "But why do you need me? What have I got to do with it?"

"We believe that Lady Adelaide's activity is in some way related to her mother's experiments. Since you were present during the struggle with Marquess Gioconda, we believed that you might have inside information as to-"

"Wait, wait, wait." Lina waved her hands around, accidentally knocking Gourry in the face in the process. She apologized, and he frowned and rubbed his cheek in response. "Are you telling me that Lady Adelaide is Gioconda's daughte_r_? I didn't even know Gioconda _had_ a daughter."

"Oh? You didn't know? I suppose it's not common knowledge. Their relationship was never publicized, and it's been over five years since Lady Adelaide was removed from the Marquess' custody."

"The woman had _four_ husbands." Gourry muttered. "I'm surprised there aren't more kids."

"Lady Adelaide was born several months after the death of Marchioness Gioconda's second husband-" Meg began speaking, but Morrigan interrupted her.

"Marquess, _Marquess._ How many times do I have to tell you, Meg?"

"S-sorry, sir." Meg's shoulders hunched over and she looked down at the desk. "My mistake."

"Marquess Gioconda _insisted_ upon taking the normally masculine title during her lifetime and I _refuse_ to be haunted by that woman's ghost just for not respecting her wishes." Morrigan sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"Normally I'd respect a woman like that." Lina chuckled to herself. "Y'know, if she weren't completely insane and all."

"Anyway, as we were saying, Lady Adelaide is the daughter of Marquess Gioconda and her second husband- whose name I forget because I can't remember any of those husbands' names- but the girl grew up under the guidance of the Marquess' third husband, as they married when Adelaide was only three years old, and he died when she was nine."

"They were only married for six years?" Gourry spoke up.

"It was actually March-er-_Marquess_ Gioconda's longest marriage." Meg replied. "She was married to her fourth husband for a little over a year, and only married to her second husband for about eight months."

"Eight months." Lina breathed. "Only eight months before she murdered him?"

"Now, now, we have no _proof _of that." Morrigan interrupted. "We can't talk murder unless we have evidence to substantiate-"

"She confessed to me." Gourry interrupted. "I heard her loud and clear."

"This conversation is getting out of hand." Morrigan brought his fist down on the table, nearly knocking the papers over again. Meg caught them just as she'd done before, but not without an annoyed glance toward the inspector. "The fact is, once Marquess Gioconda died, her estate was seized by the Ruvinigald government as evidence in the Zanaffar case. Despite her lack of connection to her mother over the last five years, Lady Adelaide demanded that she be allowed to inherit her mother's estate with no government interference. She has been fighting for control of the Gioconda estate, and we have reason to believe that it is because of her connection with Marquess Gioconda's illegal experimentation- which, might I add, is _still _happen. We have concrete evidence that illegal human experimentation is happening in connection with the Gioconda estate."

"_Still happening_?" Lina spluttered. "B-but that's impossible! Gioconda died and her accomplice went into hiding! Their experiments can't still be going on."

"Lord Duclis was not the only one working with Marquess Gioconda on the Zanaffar project." Morrigan explained. "Correspondences found with the Marquess' belongings show that her experimentation was funded by a mysterious individual using the pen name 'Abaddon.' Apparently he was the one backing the whole project and therefore had power over the whole thing."

"We don't necessarily know that Abaddon is a man." Meg cut in. "Abaddon could easily be a woman, or something else entirely."

Morrigan nodded. "Whatever the identity of this individual, we believe that Abaddon is still in contact with Lady Adelaide and is pressing her to continue with the work that she and her mother began earlier. The Zanaffar armor was only the beginning, if the correspondences from Abaddon are to be believed, and we have to put a stop to this project before any more innocent lives are affected."

"I see." Lina crossed her arms and nodded her head. Gourry saw her brain switch gears into business-mode, and he scooted his chair a short distance away from hers. "So, what you're saying is, we get enough evidence to arrest and prosecute Lady Adelaide, then once we have her we can find out who Abaddon is and get them too. And for all this, you want _my _help."

"Are you up to the task?" Morrigan asked. "Lives could be at stake."

Lina's eyes gleamed as she spoke.

"Yes… for the right price, of course."

* * *

><p>(Updates will be weekly on Fridays. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy!)<p> 


	2. Friends and Relations

As always, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>2- Friends and Relations<strong>

_The prized sword hung on the mantle, just above the fireplace, its hilt positioned so that the stream of sunlight coming through the window first thing in the morning would reflect off the colorful jewels that adorned the sides._

_In the middle of the night, however, it was difficult to see. A young man- a boy, really, no more than sixteen years old- reached out over the mantle to lift the sword off its holder. Even in the dim light, he was able to make out all the curves and designs. He'd studied them, memorized them, and analyzed them all to the best of the ability of a young boy with no formal education. But the best he could do alone was not enough. It would _never_ be enough if he didn't _do_ something-_

"_What do you think you're doing with that?"_

_The boy flinched, nearly dropping the sword, and twirled around. He registered the sight of the one who'd spoken to him just before he registered the voice. He breathed a sigh of relief, brushing a few stray strands of blond hair out of his face. "Don't do that. You scared me half to death."_

"_If I was anyone else, you _would_ be dead. Father would have killed you on the spot. What are you thinking, endangering yourself like this?"_

"_Have you forgotten already? I told you I was going to steal the sword- I expected you'd remember something that important."_

"_I do. I didn't think you were serious."_

"_Have I ever _not_ been serious?"_

_There was a pause. The two boys were nearly mirror images of one another, with slight differences in facial features and stature. The taller- older- of the two approached his younger brother with a frown. "One year." he pleaded. "That's all I ask. We've been through this before- one year and I'll be eighteen. Father will let me leave the house and I'll take you with me. We'll become mercenaries. We can build a new life together, just the two of us. It'll be better, I promise. You just have to-"_

"_And leave the Sword of Light with those who would abuse its power? I don't want to wait." the younger brother spat. "And I don't want to become a mercenary. I want to be a scholar."_

"_We weren't born for that life."_

_The younger of the two turned away, clutching the sword even more tightly to his chest. "You mean that _you _weren't born for that life! Unlike you, I have DREAMS!"_

"_Not so loud." the older brother hissed. "If we wake someone up, we'll both be killed- dreams and all. It's best just to wait-"_

"_I don't want to hear what's best for me coming from somebody like _you_."_

_The room went silent. The older of the two recoiled a few steps and the younger realized just what he'd said._

"_I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like tha-"_

"_No. I understand."_

"_You do?"_

_The older brother nodded. "No matter what ties bind us, we're different people. We have different dreams and ambitions- different ideas for what we want out of life. We have to live in a way that best suits us. I tried to forbid you from doing this because I promised to protect you, but… protecting you also means protecting your dreams. If this is what you _really _want, then… I support you."_

"_Then you'll come with me?" The younger brother's eyes lit up._

"_No. My dream is to live a normal life someday. To do that, I have to stay here, where I'm safe… er than I would be running off. But I'll cover for you. In return, you have to promise me you'll do everything you can to stay alive. Someday I want to meet you again so that you can tell me about all the cool stuff you're studying that I could never understand."_

_The younger of the two smiled. "You would understand it if you tried."_

"_And hurt my poor head in the process? No thanks. I'll leave the tough thinking up to smart people like you."_

"_How are we even related?"_

_The two brothers shared a quiet laugh._

* * *

><p>Gourry and Meg stood outside the door to the small office as Lina and Inspector Morrigan negotiated her price. Meg had stated that she disliked haggling and preferred to step out of the room while that went on, and Gourry had badly needed to stretch his legs.<p>

"Aaah, my knees hurt." he groaned, leaning against the wall. "Next time I'm offered a chair that small, I should just stand."

"I'm sorry, Mister Gabriev. It must be tough being such a large person." Meg tried to sympathize, but it wasn't of much help coming from someone of her stature. "I wouldn't _know_, of course, but…"

"Yeah, I guess it can be tough. But I'm a better bodyguard that way."

"Did Miss Lina hire you?"

"Hire me? No, not really. I kinda just…" He thought about it for a moment. "…hired myself, I guess. For her. It's not really an employer-employee relationship, Lina just likes to say that because 'bodyguard' sounds more official than 'travelling companion.' Y'know?"

"Not really, but…" Meg's voice trailed off. "I suppose it's a rather special relationship."

"Yeah." Gourry smiled, but rolled his eyes at the sound of Lina's yelling from the other side of the door. "It's _special _alright."

There was a silence, and the two focused on the muffled argument just behind them. Something large crashed, and while Meg worried for Lina's sake, Gourry was more worried about Inspector Morrigan.

"Um," Meg began, wringing her hands nervously. "I… I want to apologize for the way I acted yesterday."

"Huh?"

"I didn't mean to yell when I saw you. You surprised me, so-"

Gourry waved one hand in an attempt to calm her. "Don't worry about it. We were just talking about me being a large person- I tend to have that effect on others."

"No, it's just-" Meg exclaimed and then sighed sadly. "-that you remind me of someone. He was an old coworker of mine, but it's been a long time since I last saw him, so it brought up a bunch of old memories all of a sudden."

"Ah." Gourry nodded, a smile on his face. "I hope the memories were fond."

"Most of them."

"That's good." He chuckled to himself and continued. "I have a lot of memories that aren't so fond, but looking back on my time with Lina, I can't help but be happy. We've been through some bad times, but she always manages to come through it victorious. She never fails to amaze me… ah! I'm talking too much, aren't I? Sorry about that."

Meg was surprised by Gourry's apology and gasped. "N-no! Don't apologize! When you talk about Miss Lina, your face… er, I mean, your smile…" Her face flushed slightly. "…I like seeing the joy in your eyes. Don't apologize."

"…" Gourry stared at her a moment. "Okay, then. I had no idea-"

The door burst open and Lina waltzed out with a triumphant grin on her face. "It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mister Morrigan!"

"That's _Inspector _Morrigan to you…" he grumbled.

"C'mon, Gourry. Let's go get our things together." Lina grabbed hold of Gourry's arm and led him down the hallway. "We leave this afternoon- Morrigan has agreed to pay our traveling costs. From now on, we eat like kings!"

"Yeah!" Gourry exclaimed in delight, his earlier frustration with Lina's attitude forgotten. He could always count on her to get the best deals no matter what, and as much as he disliked her forceful nature, he was grateful for it.

Inspector Morrigan and Meg watched the two go. "…what did you finally decide?" Meg asked quietly.

"She was demanding an _outrageous_ sum of money, and I told her that it just couldn't be done. She finally brought her price down when I agreed to pay all the travel expenses for her and her companion. Everyone back at the Bureau of Investigation is going to be angry with me for this, but…" Morrigan sighed sadly as he walked back into the office and began sorting through the piles of paper that had been tossed onto the floor.

"Then why not just dismiss them?" Meg followed him into the office and closed the door behind her. "There are plenty of others with inside knowledge into the Gioconda case- Is it so vital that we have _this_ girl in particular?"

"Inspector Freion insisted that, if we wanted to succeed, we had to get Lina Inverse to assist the investigation. He's the one who put his reputation on the line by assigning me to this case. I have to make sure this operation goes smoothly… just to prove it to all those detectives who think I'm too young to handle a case this serious." The paper that was in Morrigan's hand crumpled as he said the words '_too young_.' He _was_ the youngest detective in the Ruvinigald Bureau of Investigation, after all, so the more practiced investigators had reason to view him as inexperienced and naive. But if he never got assigned to an important case, how would he ever prove himself? "I'm not going to let the risks that my mentor took for me be in vain."

Meg nodded silently and began picking up papers herself. "...I'm surprised that they were ready to leave on such short notice. I was sure they would ask us to at least wait until tomorrow morning."

"They seem to be traveling aimlessly. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Wandering all around the world with the one you love? Sounds nice, yes."

Morrigan stopped what he was doing and stared at Meg. "Come again? I thought Mister Gourry was Miss Lina's bodyguard."

"Oh, well…" Meg shrugged. "I spoke to him in the hallway, and his mannerisms seemed to suggest otherwise."

"Aaaaah," Morrigan laughed. "interesting. That _must_ be nice, then. Do you have anyone you'd want to travel the world with, Meg? You always wear that lovely ring-"

"No." For once, Meg didn't hesitate before answering. "I do not."

"Hey, that's nothing to be ashamed of! Me neither!" Morrigan waved a hand with a good natured smile on his face. "I'm a married man already- married to this job."

Meg nodded, twisting the ring back and forth on her finger absentmindedly. "…married to your job, huh? That's an awfully interesting way of putting it…"

* * *

><p>"If we're investigating a Ruvinigald citizen, why are we going to Zoana?" Lina began complaining the moment the carriage left. She wasn't happy with the destination, and began speaking out against it before Inspector Morrigan even had the chance to explain.<p>

"Miss Lina, please." The man waved his hands in an attempt to calm her. "We're going to be attending the festival that's being held in Zoana this week. Many nobles have been invited and are attending the celebration, and-"

"What are they celebrating?" Gourry raised his hand to ask.

Lina nudged him. "Knowing Martina? It's probably just some ploy to use Zoamelgustar to bolster the economy."

"Yes, well, that's probably true." Morrigan cleared his throat. "The public statement is that it's a festival to celebrate the young prince's first birthday, but his birthday was almost two months ago."

"It takes a long time to organize a festival of this size. I don't think it's suspicious necessarily." Meg offered good-naturedly, but none of the others in the carriage seemed to buy her optimism.

"I didn't know Zoana had a prince." Gourry whispered, leaning down to speak close to Lina's ear.

Lina shrugged. "It's been a few years. I guess Martina and Zangulus have been pretty busy since we last saw them."

"Busy, or _busy_?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"We have knowledge that Lady Adelaide will be in attendance at the festival as well," Meg spoke up over Lina and Gourry's side-conversation. "so it will be of great importance that she not become suspicious of our investigation."

"That's right. You can't let anyone know that you're there doing investigation work." Morrigan instructed sternly. "We've gotten clearance to attend the special events under the authority of the Ruvinigald International Trade Administration as economists assessing the possibility of investing in future international events held in Zoana. You'll be expected to ask questions about the situation in Ruvinigald, but to phrase them from an economic standpoint so as to protect your identities."

Gourry raised his hand again. "I have a question."

"Yes?"

"What's economics? That's, like, making chairs the right shape for your back so that you don't end up with back and neck problems later in life, right?"

"Gourry, that's _ergonomics_."

"It's almost the same thing, though, right?"

"Sure, why not?" Lina groaned and rested her head in one hand. "Please continue, Inspector."

Morrigan cleared his throat and flipped over a page on the clipboard his was holding. "Right now we're en route to a villa just outside of the main city, where we'll be meeting with Dr. Samuel Wilson, the curator of Ruvinigald's national archives-"

"Um, Inspector Morrigan-"

"-who will be aiding us in our investigation during the events of the festival-"

"-Inspector Morrigan-"

"-and will be able to give us valuable insight about the implications Lady Adelaide's actions in the context of former criminal activities in-"

"-Inspector Morrigan, Dr. Wilson isn't coming."

Morrigan stopped abruptly and turned to Meg. "_What_?"

"He's not coming. I received a message from him telling me that he is tied up with a time-sensitive restoration project and can't leave town during the next week." Meg stated. "He's sending one of his assistants to help us instead."

"And you waited until _now_ to tell me this?!"

"With all due respect, sir, I walked into the office with Dr. Wilson's note in my hand and you immediately sent me off in search of Miss Lina and Mister Gabriev. I left the note on the desk, assuming that you'd read it."

"For goodness' sakes, Meg, you can't just assume that people will read every random piece of paper that-" "It was written on his letterhead, so I doubted that you would mistake it for-" "-comes across their desk! Do you have any idea how many-" "-something of little importance. A good detective is aware of his surroundings at all-" "-papers I read a day and how few of them say anything of value that I can-" "-times, you know, and so I expected that you'd-"

Lina and Gourry inched away from the two, glancing at each other uneasily. It wasn't that there was any animosity between the detective and his assistant, but it didn't seem like they worked particularly well together.

"Hey, Gourry?" Lina whispered.

"What is it?"

"Have you noticed the way Meg refers to us?"

"What about it?"

"She always uses my first name but your last name."

"So what? Maybe she forgot my name. I forget it sometimes too."

"Gourry_, really_."

"You remembered it. Good for you."

"I'm being serious here."

Gourry sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Gourry isn't a very common first name, while Gabriev is a fairly well-known surname. Lina, on the other hand, is pretty and easier to say than Inverse, which is kind of strange if you ask me. I wouldn't think too much about it."

Lina's face turned red, though not because of any specific emotion. She was caught between '_aw, he called my name pretty_' and '_how DARE he insult the Inverse family like that.'_

Meg and Morrigan were still arguing, so Lina cleared her throat to grab their attention. "Excuse me. While I hate to be rude, I still don't know much about this Lady Adelaide character, and I don't want to start investigating without the necessary background information. What's her story, anyway? You said that she was removed from Gioconda's custody?"

"Yes, when she was thirteen years old." Morrigan nodded, turning back to Lina and Gourry and jumping into investigation-mode again. "Allegations of child abuse had been raised against Marquess Gioconda when Lady Adelaide was much younger, but they were always dropped before anything came of them. It's likely that some money exchanged hands, just as it always did when the authorities began to wise up to the Marquess' actions, and then everything was swept under the rug and not spoken of again for years."

"It's horrible, but I don't doubt it." Lina nodded.

"Finally, after multiple attempts, the Ruvinigald government was finally able to remove Lady Adelaide from her mother's custody. For some reason, they were unable to locate any of Adelaide's father's family-"

"Marquess Gioconda had married her second husband for his alleged family ties to a famous priest," Meg broke in. "but it turned out that he was estranged from his family and claimed no ties after all. That's probably why she murdered him after such a short marriage-"

"-I already told you, Meg, please don't say the 'm' word. We don't have sufficient evidence." Morrigan interrupted again. "Anyway, with no family to whom they could send Lady Adelaide, the government placed her in a girls' boarding school in the city of Millspring, on the southwestern border of their allied country of Seyruun. She graduated less than a year ago, ranked third in her class. Her grades were impeccable, her discipline record was spotless, and all her instructors had nothing but glowing things to say about her. She had been the president of the fencing club, and was also a registered sister of Millspring's Order of the Holy Sword."

"Order of the Holy Sword?" Lina repeated. "Is that… some sort of secret society?"

"I know what it is!" Gourry raised his hand with a proud smile. "I studied under a chapter of the Order of the Holy Sword once."

Lina blinked, gaping at him in shock. "_You _were part of a secret society?"

"I-it's not really a secret society. It's more like a group of scholars with similar interests." Gourry replied awkwardly. "And I… wasn't part of it. Y'see, the Order of the Holy Sword mixes swordsmanship and White Magic, and you know how I am with magic…"

"You don't practice magic, Mister Gabriev?" Meg asked in surprise.

"Nah. All those incantations and stuff are too much for me to remember." Gourry laughed good-naturedly. "I'm better off doing something I don't have to think too much about. But I still managed to learn a lot from the chapter I studied under. The Order of the Holy Sword has a very unique fighting style that focuses less on building the power of the fighter and more on using the power of the opponent against them. It's supposed to be better for mages and scholars who tend to be…" he glanced over at Lina, "…on the small side."

"Sounds like the perfect style for a young girl interested in swordsmanship." Lina nodded, shooting him a glare. "Of course, considering what Adelaide's _mother_ did with her swordsmanship skills, I don't like the sound of that."

"If this Adelaide person is really a sister of the Holy Sword, though, she could never have done all this stuff that you've accused her of." Gourry continued, closing his eyes and appearing deep in thought.

Morrigan frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, because the Order of the Holy Sword has extremely strict moral guidelines that its members follow. Before a person can be accepted as a brother or sister of the order, not only do they have to display their skill in both swordsmanship and White Magic, but they also receive special training with monks or nuns to educate them on the Order's doctrine of _oneness with humanity_… whatever that means."

Lina raised an eyebrow. "_Oneness with humanity?_"

"I just said I don't know what it means."

Morrigan was scribbling down notes on the margins of his paper. "Incredible… this is fascinating…"

"Inspector Morrigan, didn't you _know_ this already?" Meg asked. "I thought you said you'd done research on Lady Adelaide."

"I _did_ do research on Lady Adelaide. I _didn't _do research on the Order of the Holy Sword."

"But if she's a sister of the order, wouldn't it make sense to research the order as well?"

"W-well, I suppose, but-"

Meg and Morrigan began arguing again, and Lina and Gourry tried to ignore them, continuing their own conversation.

"If Adelaide took the time to become part of an organization that preaches oneness with humanity, there _must_ be a reason for it." Lina spoke. "Don't you think?"

"Yes." Gourry nodded. "The sisters at the chapter I studied with said that very few students ever go on to actually become official brothers or sisters. They said that the order is willing to teach swordsmanship and White Magic to all students who wish to learn, but membership in the order requires… something more complicated that I can't remember. Something about the whole _oneness_ deal."

Lina leaned back, resting her head on the back of her seat. "I've been to Millspring before. It's a scholarly town, built up around one of Seyruun's finest universities. There are opportunities all over for budding swordsmen or White Magicians. For Adelaide to not only have chosen the Order of the Holy Sword, but to have become a sister of the order _must _have some significance."

"Maybe it could help prove her innocence." Gourry suggested.

"Or her guilt." Lina shot back. "People with squeaky-clean reputations like this are either perfect angels or have something to hide, and I'm banking on the latter."

"I see." Gourry murmured. He glanced down at his feet. "Even if we do find out that Adelaide is guilty, I… don't know if I can turn her in."

"Gourry, what are you saying? This is a matter of life and death-"

"Exactly. This girl is younger than _you_ are, Lina. Turning her in for a crime like this is sentencing her to death."

"You remember all the terrible stuff that old hag Gioconda did, don't you?"

"And you remember that I still didn't want to fight her, don't you?"

"You can't let chivalry get in the way of justice, Gourry."

"I understand that. But is sentencing an eighteen-year-old girl to death your idea of justice?"

The two were silent. The sound of Meg and Morrigan's argument droned on, but neither one paid attention to it. They didn't want to admit it, but they were both starting to wonder if they'd soon regret the decision to join the investigation.

Was it really worth it?

* * *

><p>After a long and somewhat awkward ride, the group finally arrived at the villa outside of the city of Zoana. It was dark and hard to see, and Meg went inside to greet Dr. Wilson's assistant who'd been waiting for them while Morrigan, Lina, and Gourry pulled the luggage out of the carriage. They could hear Meg conversing with a young man, thanking him for his trouble and asking him about Dr. Wilson's well-being.<p>

"I can't tell you how much it means that you're helping with our investigation. I know you've been busy aiding Dr. Wilson with the restoration work-"

"Don't think so much of it. I'm happy to get out of the stuffy museum every once in a while."

Lina was sure she recognized that voice, but she couldn't turn around to look with the large trunk she had in her arms. She struggled to walk toward the villa, and suddenly felt someone grab hold of the trunk from the other side.

"Need some help there, Lina?"

She dropped the trunk into his arms, staring at him in surprise.

"_Zelgadis_?!"


	3. Meet Halfway

As always, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>3- Meet Halfway<strong>

_When the young man opened his eyes, he found himself in what looked like a dungeon. He was in a bed, but the room was cold, and he was missing his bag and-_

"_No!" he gasped, sitting up abruptly. "Wh-where is it? What happened to-"_

"_Your sword is in the hands of the prince. You _do_ want him to make a copy, don't you?"_

_The boy looked up to see the beastman from earlier watching him sternly. He relaxed, remembering the earlier situation. "Oh, that's right. Thank you. I'm sorry for the trouble, but I-"_

"_Never apologize to someone who's being paid to do work for your sake. The money is apology enough." The beastman cut him off. "Tell me, who did you steal it from?"_

"_I'd rather not say."_

"_And why is that?"_

"_They…" the boy looked around for something else to stare at as he spoke, not wanting to make eye contact with the beastman. "…they're related to me, but they're not family."_

"_What does that mean?"_

"_They're, well, my father and my half-brothers. But don't think for a second that they love me or even care about my well-being. All they want is that sword, and they're willing to kill me to get it back."_

"_I suppose those are the _wrong hands_ you spoke of earlier?"_

_The boy nodded. "Yes."_

_The beastman stood up and began pacing around the room. "Forgive me for being so nosy, but _why _are they the wrong hands? I've been in this business long enough to know that there are two sides to every story, and while you're only part of this conflict, I want to know the details. Perhaps you are the one we should be keeping the sword from."_

"_Don't say that! I've been doing research on the Sword of Light ever since I was young. I didn't have many resources available to me, but I've been able to figure out one thing: the Sword of Light is not just a weapon. It contains the essence of a living entity within it. That's the source of its power. But I haven't been able to figure out what kind of entity this might be, or where it even comes from. It's not like any creature in this world. It _must _have come from somewhere else, and if so, where? My conscience, as a scholar, wouldn't let me leave something so important in the hands of those who only wanted it in order to gain an advantage over their enemies."_

"_I see. So you're a scholar. That changes things."_

"_How so?"_

"_I had thought you might be a warrior, simply by the way you were dressed and your mannerisms. Scholars and warriors think very differently, so I drew conclusions about your perspective based on my perception of your livelihood."_

"_W-well… I'm not _really_ a scholar. Not yet." the boy mumbled. "I've never received a formal education. I had to teach myself and my brother to read on our own, even."_

"_This is a half brother?"_

"_No! This is a _brother,_ brother. He's the only real family I have."_

"_Is he a scholar too?"_

"_N-no, he's… not the scholarly type. When we were kids, he always promised to protect me, and when I left, he promised that he'd cover for me."_

"_So he knows where you're going?"_

"_Yes, but no one else does."_

"_How can you be so sure?"_

_The boy blinked in confusion. "This is my _brother_ we're talking about. He'd _never _betray me."_

_There was a long silence, and finally the beastman gave a sigh._

"_If only things were that simple."_

* * *

><p>"<em>Zelgadis<em>?! What are you doing here?"

Lina had dropped the trunk into his arms, and it took him a moment to regain his balance. "What am I doing here?" Zelgadis repeated. "I'm currently working for Dr. Wilson at the Ruvinigald National Archives. He can't be here to aid the investigation, so he sent me, since I have first-hand experience with the Gioconda case."

"Since when do _you_ work for Ruvinigald?" Lina demanded, following after him toward the villa. "With your criminal record, I'm surprised that they'd even hire you."

"I'm a knight of Seyruun. What's _your_ qualification?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"M-Miss Lina," Meg broke into the conversation. "you're already familiar with Mister Zelgadis?"

"Yeah, yeah." Lina waved one hand dismissively. "We've met a few times before."

"A few times? After all the times I saved your butt in battle?"

"Saved my butt? Look who's talking!"

"Yo! Zel!" Gourry came up behind the two, giving Zelgadis a hearty clap on the shoulder. "It's good to see you again! I'm glad to hear that you've got a steady job now. Work is kinda hard to come by nowadays, huh?"

"Yes, I'm lucky that Dr. Wilson hired me." Zelgadis nodded in reply, climbing the steps into the house and setting the trunk down on the floor next to a table.

"Lucky? Since when do you work for a living?" Lina teased. "What happened to raiding temples and tombs in search of your cure?"

"Think about it, Lina." Zelgadis shot back. "Working for Ruvinigald's National Archives, I'm getting _paid_ to go through old books and documents. Old books and documents that _might_ say a thing or two about chimeras."

Lina's eyes lit up in recognition. "Zel, you sly devil!"

"Excuse me, excuse me, I'm so glad that everyone has gotten to know each other _except for me_." Inspector Morrigan butted in, setting down the bags he was carrying on top of the trunk. He pushed Lina to the side slightly so that he could face Zelgadis and shake hands.

"I apologize for my lack of introduction before." Zelgadis reached out for the man's hand and shook it. "I'm Zelgadis Greywords, one of Dr. Wilson's assistants. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine!" Morrigan exclaimed, pumping Zelgadis' hand up and down eagerly. "I'm Special Investigator Maximilian de Morrigan, of the Ruvinigald Kingdom. Please, just call me Inspector Morrigan."

"Of course, inspector." Zelgadis nodded and walked across the room to a desk that was situated in the corner, overlooking a large window. There was a stack of papers on the desk, and Zelgadis pulled a pack of papers from the top, flipping through it before deciding it was the right one and bringing it to Morrigan. "Dr. Wilson informed me that you were going undercover as Ruvinigald economists during the festival tomorrow, so I pulled a few strings and got my hands on a list of all the nobles and officials who'll be attending. Make yourselves at home- I know it's late, but I cans see we have a lot to discuss."

Morrigan flipped through the list as he made himself comfy in one of the armchairs. "Sir Greywords, this is impressive. You can tell a lot about the various countries' relations with Zoana by the sort of entourage they send. Look at that! Those high-ranking officials from Daylz must mean that they have some vested interest in Zoana's assets. All six princes of Selmatt are on their way- they must have family ties with Zoana's royalty. But Taforashia is only sending its prince? That'll be a blow to Zoana's economic interests, that's for sure-"

"Taforashia's prince is coming?" Lina gasped. She'd been leaning on the back of the armchair, trying unsuccessfully to read over Morrigan's shoulder, but when he mentioned Taforashia, she plucked the papers out of his hand and began flipping through them herself.

"H-hey!" Morrigan snapped. "I said so, didn't I? You don't need to grab the paper from me!"

"If the prince is coming, why is it a bad thing for Zoana?" Gourry asked. "He's the _prince_. Isn't he important?"

"A prince's duty is in the diplomatic relations between the two countries. He has no power over economic matters." Zelgadis broke in. "If Zoana and Taforashia were negotiating diplomatic treaties, that would be different. However, treaties of that nature have already been made. Zoana is now fighting for a large share of Taforashia's famous lumber exports, which are taking a while to get back up to their previous levels and are therefore in high demand. For Poko-er, Prince Posel to arrive alone, with no economic advisors, means that Taforashia has no plans for negotiating trade agreements with Zoana."

"Oooh, I understand now." Gourry replied in the way he usually did when he _didn't_ understand."

"Prince Posel was involved in the Gioconda incident, wasn't he?" Morrigan asked.

"He was." Zelgadis nodded. "He was the one who provided us with the Sword of Light replica needed to rebound from Gioconda and her minions' attacks and gain the upper hand."

"I've heard a lot about the prince of Taforashia." Meg spoke up. "He's both a magical and mechanical genius."

"_I'm_ a genius too, y'know." Lina's lips turned up into a pout.

"Who else is coming?" Gourry asked. "What about Amelia? She's a princess, right?"

"Amelia is coming. She's being escorted by an entourage of Phil's economic advisors."

"And not her personal bodyguard?" Lina asked, throwing Zelgadis a glare.

"I'm currently employed by the Ruvinigald Kingdom."

"But you still keep in touch with Seyruun?"

"Of course."

"Because of your job or because of Amelia?"

"Why do I have to choose?"

"Excuse me, I'm very lost." Meg interrupted, stepping between the group and waving her hands. "Who are we talking about? Who's Amelia?"

"Amelia is the princess of Seyruun." Zelgadis replied, turning his attention away from Lina and Gourry. "As a knight of Seyruun, I was appointed as her bodyguard by her father, prince Philionel, for a short time. She's a good friend of both mine and Lina and Gourry's."

"Perhaps Princess Amelia would be a good person to ask about Lady Adelaide, then." Morrigan spoke up.

"I doubt it." Zelgadis scoffed. "Amelia probably hasn't even heard of Lady Adelaide. She's a wonderful princess, but, as any leader might, tends to get bogged down with her own country's problems before working on those of other countries. Plus Amelia is a very single-minded person, and if she heard about something like this, she'd probably do everything in her power to bring this offender to- well- justice. It's likely that her father knows, but hasn't told her for fear that she'd start meddling in something that doesn't concern her."

The conversation was interrupted by a long, loud yawn. Everyone turned to look.

"Sorry about that." Gourry murmured, rubbing his eyes. "Being cooped up all day is not good for me. I'm tired and I haven't even done anything."

"Don't worry. We'll expect you to do a lot tomorrow." Lina assured him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "In the meantime, we should all probably get some rest. Where are the guest bedrooms, Zel?"

"There are none."

"Huh?"

"You'll sleep here." He turned and opened up some of the cabinets, pulling out cushions and blankets. "Dr. Wilson was told to save money as best he could with his arrangements, considering that the price of certain correspondences would be… _costly_."

Lina took the blankets he was handing her with an insulted expression. "Oh, so _I'm_ the reason we're all sleeping on the floor?"

"Yes. So get comfy." Zelgadis began putting his cloak on and gathering some notebooks from the desk. "I'm going out."

"Out where?"

"Doing a little extra snooping around. The whole point of getting that list of visiting nobility was to figure out which ones would be the best to interview. But there'd be no point in doing that if we had to search the whole celebration tomorrow. I'm going to see if I can find out who is planning what and who is going to be where."

"And just where are you going to get that information?" Lina pressed.

"There were events going on this afternoon, so a lot of the nobles are already here. I'm going to ask around."

Lina mumbled something unintelligible under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing." Lina waved her hand back and forth. "I was just going to ask if the group from Seyruun is here yet. Maybe you can ask them?"

"I don't know, but if I see them, I'll be sure to say hello."

"Sure you will." Lina waved her hand. "Say 'hi' to Amelia for me, will you?"

"If I see her, I will."

* * *

><p>When Lina woke up the next morning, Zelgadis was already awake and making breakfast. She had tossed and turned during the night, and even been up a few hours prior when Gourry's loud snoring had woken her. To get up, she had to lift Gourry's arm from over her chest. It wasn't that she really cared whether or not he woke up, but… she was careful. He seemed to be getting pretty cozy with Meg anyway.<p>

"Good morning, Lina."

"G'morning, Zel. Where were you last night?"

"What do you mean? I told you, I was out getting information. Here- read this." Zelgadis stepped away from the stovetop long enough to offer Lina a stack of papers. "It's got all the information here. All the plans of the visiting nobles are right here in this packet."

Lina took a step back, examining the paper. "Where did you get this?"

"I spoke with one of the visiting nobles last night."

"Who, exactly?"

There was a pause. The sound of bacon sizzling on the pan grabbed Zelgadis' attention and he turned back to his work. "…Amelia says 'hi' back." he mumbled under his breath.

"Uh huh. So that's why you were out all night."

"All night? What are you talking about?"

"I woke up a few hours ago 'cause of Gourry's snoring and when I looked around you weren't here."

"I slept in the chair." Zelgadis responded.

"No you didn't." Lina replied. "Morrigan was in the chair when I woke up."

"You were half asleep. How do you know it wasn't me?"

"I guess it could've been you- if you somehow grew a bushy moustache and goatee while I was asleep." Lina leaned over and tapped on Zelgadis' cheek. "Can any hair grow through this tough skin of yours?"

"What does it matter to you? We were wandering around the fairgrounds, if you must know."

"And how'd they look?"

"Dark. Empty. Gaudy. Nothing really to see."

"Then why'd you spend _six hours_ there?"

Zelgadis grabbed a pair of tongs and picked up a piece of bacon, holding it out to Lina. "Care to sample breakfast?"

"Nice subject change." Lina grabbed it and tossed it back and forth between her hands until it cooled down enough for her to eat it. "So what else is for breakfast?"

"I've got rice cooking and I'll use the bacon grease for some eggs. How do you like yours? Sunny-side up?"

"Scrambled, please. On toast."

"We're having rice."

"I want toast."

"We have no bread."

"There's a hundred royals in this city. I'm sure _somebody_ around here has some bread."

"Did you say bread?" Gourry's voice piped up from across the room. He scrambled over, nearly knocking over the chairs around the table in the process. "I smell rice cooking. Are we having toast too?"

"Yes." "No."

Lina and Zelgadis noticed that they'd given conflicting responses and glared at each other. Lina sighed and left the kitchen, heading toward the washroom in the back. "I'm going to get washed up before breakfast. Gourry, argue for some toast, will you?"

Gourry gave a salute in response. Lina smiled as she pushed the door to the washroom open, but she almost ran into Meg.

"Whoa! Sorry, there. Didn't see you. This place is too small for such a-" She stopped abruptly. "-Meg? Are you alright?"

Meg swiveled around in surprise, quickly drying off her face. "Oh, M-Miss Lina, I was…"

"Your face is red. Did something happen?"

"It's nothing." Meg shook her head. "Your, uh, bodyguard was…"

"Did he roll over and squish you?" Lina chuckled. "We've had little slumber parties like this with traveling companions before. He has a bad tendency to do that. I hope you're not hurt. He's _really_ heavy."

"Heavy. Yes, he's… _heavy_." Meg murmured, wringing the towel in her hand. "I'm sorry. I have to go." Within a moment, she returned and handed Lina the towel back. "Um, here you go."

"Thanks…" Lina murmured, staring at the towel for a moment. "…I wonder what got her so upset. Gourry's not _that_ heavy, is he?"


	4. Business as Usual

I apologize for the missed chapter last week- it was due to personal circumstances and does not represent a change in the update schedule. Thank you everyone for following along with the story so far- as always, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy.

* * *

><p><strong>4- Business as Usual<strong>

"_Stay back! I'm warning you, I'll-"_

"_You'll what? Do you even know how to use that sword? Something like that is no use in the hands of a brainiac like you."_

"_I'm not joking! How did you find me? Who told you where I was going?"_

"_You think we're too stupid to figure out your plans on our own? That we need _help_? You're not as smart as you think, and you're definitely not a decent enough fighter to intimidate us with our own sword."_

"_I know. That's why I've come to… give it back to you."_

_The group of young men took a step backwards. It wasn't what they'd expected to hear from the boy. They were ready to slit his throat, save for the blazing pillar of light emanating from the hilt that he was holding onto. They weren't afraid of the him, but as much as they were willing to bluff, they _were _afraid of the sword, and not one of them was willing to move. _

"_Give it back? What game are you playing?"_

"_N-no game." the boy replied. "Like you said, I have no use for it. I can't wield something like this. So… here. You take it back. Tell Father I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stolen it. Have it back, and… I'll just be going."_

_The boy crouched down low to the ground, letting the blade of the sword dissipate. Each of the young men started towards it hastily, but the boy yelled out again._

"_Stop! Stay back. Let me leave first. You can have the sword, just… let me leave."_

_The boy began to step away backwards, but he ran into someone. One of the men was standing behind him, staring him down._

"_Where do you think you're going, _pipsqueak?_"_

"_I-I'm leaving. You have the sword. Isn't that what you wanted?"_

"_The sword is what we want." the man behind him spoke. "…but it's not all we were told to get."_

"_Wha-" _

"_Father wants _you_ too. He wants you back- alive _or_ dead. It's your choice."_

* * *

><p>"Now, Gourry, remember what Zel told us this morning."<p>

"Yes, Lina, I remember."

"You'd better. I don't want a stray word from you to blow our cover and get us in big trouble. I know how you are with things like that."

Gourry pouted. "Lina, _please_. I may not be good at remembering things, but if Zel said it was important not to let anyone know what our mission is, then I'll do exactly what he says."

"Yes, but I don't trust your economic knowledge." Lina responded, rolling her eyes and dragging him through the crowded walkway. "So you be quiet and let me do the talking."

"Isn't that what I always do?"

"Of course it is. And speaking of talking-" Lina began. "-I had something I wanted to talk to you about. I was going to point out that you were getting _quite_ cozy with Meg this morning-"

"Cozy? Meg?" Gourry blinked.

"Well, I think it was more like you rolled on top of her in your sleep, but still. You scared the poor girl. She was in the washroom _crying_ this morning because of you."

"Crying? What'd I do? I didn't mean any harm."

"I know you didn't." Lina groaned, shaking her head. "I don't know why she was crying. I know she's wishy-washy, but she doesn't seem the kind to cry just 'cause of that…"

"Maybe she has brittle bones or something." Gourry suggested. "I should apologize. If I hurt her, then-"

"She looked okay." Lina sighed. "It's probably not our business to pry. Whatever's going on in her life is _her _business. Give her some space from now on, will you?"

"Sure, sure. But is this just because you're jealous?"

Lina sniffed indignantly. "My jealousy has nothing to do with Meg's well-being."

"It could. If you let me snuggle with _you_ at night, I wouldn't end up squishing other people."

"Hah. Nice try." Lina pushed Gourry's head aside toward one of the booths. "How about we try our luck with that cotton candy instead?"

The crowd that had gathered for the festival was larger and more lively than Lina had been expecting, and she realized that it would be more difficult than she'd anticipated to find those they were looking for. Lina had volunteered herself and Gourry to interview the prince of Taforashia, mainly because of their close ties with him and the fact that he and Amelia were planning to spend time together at the festival, and Lina wanted to see both of them.

"I had thought it would be easy to find somebody as colorful as Pokota around a place like this, but there's so many people, we may never find a tiny animal like him. Zel said he'd be in this area, but I don't see him."

Gourry finished swallowing his bite of candy. "He's on somebody's head."

"Yeah, maybe he will be. If we're lucky, we might be able to spot him, but if the person isn't tall enough-"

"No. I mean he's on somebody's head. I think it's Amelia."

"Huh?"

Gourry was tall enough that he could see over most of the crowd, and he'd been able to spot the little creature riding on a very familiar head of hair.

"_Amelia_!" Lina yelled, waving her hand around. "_Pokota!_ Hey, you guys!"

There was a moment in which Lina and Gourry didn't hear a response. However, it was just Amelia taking the time to push her way through the crowd. "M-Miss Lina… Mister Gourry… h-hey…"

By the time she burst through, Lina had already finished her cotton candy and was handing the paper cone to Gourry so that her hands were free. She ran to embrace Amelia, throwing her arms around the princess to pull her into a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you! Zelgadis told me you'd be here- on behalf of the Ruvinigald Kingdom, is that right?"

"Yep." Lina nodded, breaking away from the hug and noticing that Pokota had jumped over form Amelia's head to hers. "Hey, little guy. It's been a while."

"Don't call me 'little guy.' I'm older than you are." Pokota pouted.

"Yeah, but you still sound like a twelve-year-old." Lina teased, wagging a finger back and forth.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Definitely not mine!"

Gourry burst in, quick to break up the argument. "Hey, guys! Nice to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Mister Gourry!" Amelia hugged his waist briefly and then took a step back, admiring the two empty cones he held in his hands. "I see you've already dug into Zoana's famous cotton candy."

"It was the only confectionary around that wasn't shaped like that atrocious Zoamelgustar." Lina responded.

"Be careful what you say, Lina." Pokota leaned down, pushing Lina's bangs in front of her face. "Remember where you are. Amelia already told me about your _wonderful_ friendship with the queen of Zoana…"

"Ah, yes." Lina murmured. "Wouldn't want to incur her wrath during this time of moneymaking- er, I mean, _celebration_, now would we?"

"The prince really did have a birthday." Amelia offered.

"I don't doubt it." Lina waved one hand absentmindedly. "But that's not what we're here for, so I'll forget about it."

"Right. Have you found any information about Lady Adelaide yet?"

The group paused for a second. Lina and Gourry exchanged a panicked glance. Pokota was the first to speak.

"Lady Adelaide? Who's that?"

"Lady Adelaide of the Ruvinigald Kingdom is the one that Miss Lina and Mister Gourry are looking for-" Amelia began answering, but Lina cut her off.

"A-Amelia, not so loud!" Lina shoved her hands over the princess' mouth. "How do you know all that, anyway? It's supposed to be a secret!"

"Zelgadis told me last night." Amelia chirped in response, her voice muffled by Lina's gloves.

Lina stepped away in frustration. "That damn hypocrite. He has the nerve to lecture _us_ on confidentiality after he gave away all the details to his girlfriend while they were in bed-"

"We were exploring the fairgrounds." Amelia interjected forcefully. "And he didn't tell me- not openly. He tried to give me his cover story, but I could tell he was lying, so I called him on it. He told me everything because I insisted."

"And I didn't get word of this?" Pokota asked, jumping from Lina's head to Amelia's. "I've been advised to take special care in dealing with matters involving the Ruvinigald Kingdom, considering the current animosity there is between them and Taforashia… I need to know things like this."

Gourry looked around awkwardly. "So… are we still sworn to secrecy, or-"

"C'mon, Gourry." Lina grabbed his arm and tugged him to the side of the path. "Our friends already know what's up, so there's no use hiding anything from them. Let's find a private place to explain everything."

The group began walking through the crowded pathways in their search for a place to talk. Amelia should've been the one leading the way, but she was so short that it was difficult to keep an eye on her. Amelia held onto Gourry's arm- his other arm, the one that Lina wasn't already holding onto- and made sure he was following her. If anyone got separated, they could see Gourry towering over all the others in the crowd.

"There's a tent set up near the coliseum with tables for people eating. It'll probably be crowded within an hour or so during the lunch rush, but if we go straight there, we can probably find a table." Amelia instructed. "At an event like this, people tend to mind their own business. I wouldn't worry about privacy."

"What's the coliseum?" Gourry asked. "I don't see anything like that. All I see is that big row of bleachers further down-"

"That's it." Pokota replied. "It's not a real coliseum, since Zoana's main coliseum was… _mysteriously destroyed _some years back… but because of the king's love for swordsmanship, he insisted that there be a place to hold swordfighting competitions during the afternoons of the festival."

"Swordfighting competitions?" Gourry's eyes lit up. "How can I get in on that?"

"Anyone is welcome to join." Amelia replied with a smile. "I wasn't here yesterday, but I heard there was a big upset. A young swordswoman supposedly toppled all the other contestants with ease."

"Yeah, I watched it." Pokota agreed. "Her style was like nothing I'd ever seen. She was so fast, it was difficult to keep up with her, and it seemed like the harder her opponents tried, the harder they fell prey to her techniques."

Lina and Gourry shot each other a glance.

"…that sounds like the Holy Sword style…" Gourry murmured. "…it couldn't be…"

"Adelaide. She must be drawn to swordfights just like her mother was. Can't say I'm surprised."

"Her mother?" Pokota asked. "Do you know her mother?"

"I _did_. And so did you."

* * *

><p>It took longer than Amelia and Pokota had expected to eat lunch, but naturally Lina and Gourry wanted to try food from all the different vendors. Pokota made an offhand comment about how Lina could provide the entire yearly budget for the government of Zoana, and that gave her pause for a brief moment, but that moment ended as soon as Gourry offered her a bite of his turkey leg and she forgot her worries.<p>

The story was spilled out- quietly and discreetly, but the whole story nonetheless. Pokota admitted that he hadn't known a thing about Adelaide's existence, and Amelia agreed, though she did have some information about the Order of the Holy Sword that she could share. All in all, they exchanged what information they had, but it wasn't much. Nothing they could use to prove the guilt- or innocence- of the lady.

"Well, it's not like we can do anything more." Lina shrugged, tossing another chocolate-covered strawberry into her mouth. "Gourry's and my job today was to interview _you,_ Pokota, and we've done that. I guess all that's left is to enjoy ourselves at the festival."

"Wait a moment, Miss Lina." Amelia reached out to her. "Didn't Mister Pokota say that Lady Adelaide was here at the festival, participating in the swordsmanship tournament? If she's anything like Marquess Gioconda, she'll be back at this afternoon's competition to defend her title."

"You really think we can get any information from Lady Adelaide herself?" Pokota asked.

"Gioconda was very outright about her illegal activities." Amelia shrugged. "We should take the information we have and change it up a little. If these sorts of villains have any weakness, it's their pride. She'll correct our incorrect assumptions and in doing so will give herself away. It's an ingenious plan- full of _Justice_!"

"Calm yourself there, justice-girl." Lina stood up and placed her hand on Amelia's shoulder, pushing the princess back onto the bench. "Gioconda was in a position in which she could say those things without fear of consequences. She had the government twisted around her finger. But Lady Adelaide already knows that the government has its sights on her, and that they're suspicious. If she really wanted to continue her illegal work, she'd never say anything that could incriminate herself. She's too smart for that."

"But-"

"Like I said, we should just enjoy the festival from now on." Lina sat down, brushing stray bits of chocolate off her cloak. "I know Gourry wanted to enter the swordsmanship competition going on this afternoon. I'd like to see him take it all… and maybe even defeat yesterday's champion…"

"Lina," Pokota gasped. "what are you really saying?"

"It's simple." Lina shrugged. "Gourry's buddy, the king of Zoana, set up this competition to be both free of charge and lacking in any sort of prizes. The point of it is to show his love for swordsmanship by opening a venue for any and all who also love swordsmanship. Anyone entering this competition isn't in it for potential prizes- they're in it for the exhilaration of the fight and the honor that comes in victory. Gourry can defeat any opponent he faces, there's no doubt about that. But if he were to defeat the reigning champion from yesterday… what might that do to her ego? She may be a top-notch swordsman, but she's still a young girl, and the society we live in builds a young girl's confidence to be shaky. She'll want a rematch for sure, and if Gourry offers her one-" Lina slammed her fork into the table, causing everyone to jump back in surprise. "-my guess is, she'll take it no-questions-asked."

"Then we've got her!" Gourry gasped.

"Only in the sense that we can have a private conversation with her." Lina replied, wagging a finger at him. "But it's a start. What do you say, Gourry? This whole plan does hinge on you being able to win that competition, after all."

"You bet I can win that competition!" Gourry cheered. "Leave it to me!"

Lina clapped her hands together and sat back in her chair. "Well, then. I guess our plans for the afternoon are settled. Now who's up for ice cream? It may not be Seyruun's famous soft-serve, but I've had my eye on that special Zoamelgustar flavor all day, and I really want to know what the secret ingredient is!"

"_Yes! _Ice cream!" "N-no more food for me, thanks." "I'm good. You guys… eat our share, okay?"

Amelia and Pokota both looked sick and motioned Lina and Gourry back towards the crowd. Even the normally voracious appetites of the two royals couldn't match Lina and Gourry at a festival. It was probably best that they just sit back and watch…

* * *

><p>"Are you going to be alright? Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to get you a cup of water?"<p>

"I'm… fine… thanks. I just need to rest."

Morrigan had found a bench on the outskirts of the festival, away from most of the crowds, where he led Meg and helped her to sit down and catch her breath. He'd heard her mention all day that she wasn't comfortable with large crowds of people, but it wasn't until she began hyperventilating and nearly fainted that he realized the severity of it. The inspector sat on the bench next to his assistant, placing on hand on her back, hoping he could ease her pain somewhat.

"I'm sorry. I guess all this merrymaking is getting to me. All these people and noise and…"

"Don't worry. You're fine. Just rest." Morrigan moved his hand away gently. "I'm sorry. I should've specified this in the job description. I didn't realize it was such a big issue for some. For that I am at fault, and I apologize."

"It's not your fault." Meg sniffled, rubbing one eye wearily. "If I want to work in criminal justice, I have to get over this fear of people. I've been doing better, but something like this can…"

"I know what you mean. A large crowd of people gathered in one area is a powerful thing." Morrigan replied, closing his eyes pensively. "I have… well, I suppose I wouldn't call them bad memories, but _bittersweet_ memories of events like this. We used to have events like this where I grew up."

"Ruvinigald had these sort of things?"

"No, I'm actually not from Ruvinigald. I moved to Ruvinigald with my parents at the age of fourteen- against my own wishes, funnily enough. It's surprising to look back and see just how lucky I was." The inspector grimaced and muttered under his breath. "…_If you could call suddenly losing all your friends and relatives lucky_…"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand-"

"No, no, _I'm _the one who's sorry! This is not the time or place for this sort of conversation!" Morrigan exclaimed, waving his hands back and forth. He jumped up and turned back toward the line of booths. "I'm pretty thirsty after all this walking, so I'm going to get some lemonade. Do you want any?"

"Yes, please." Meg nodded. Before he could walk off, she called out to him. "Taforashia?"

"Excuse me?"

"Taforashia. That's where you're from, right?"

Morrigan paused, staring back at her. "…yes, that's right."

Meg smiled and leaned back on the bench with a sigh, trying to clear her mind. The combination of the noisy surroundings and the importance of the mission had her head spinning. A few deep breaths of summer air helped to calm her, but it didn't last long.

"Excuse me, Miss."

Meg's eyes snapped open suddenly at the sound of a man's voice. She looked up at the young man who'd approached her, half in shock that he'd spoken so suddenly and half in fear of what he might be saying. Was she sitting in the wrong place? Had something happened?

"Can I help you?" she finally stammered.

"May I sit down? Or are you saving that seat for someone?"

Meg glanced at the spot beside her where Morrigan had been sitting. "He, uh, just got up to get some lemonade for us, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we made some room for you."

"No, no, I don't expect to take long." the man replied. "I just wanted to speak with you and your companion. You're the economists I've heard about- the ones from Ruvinigald?"

"Yes." Meg nodded.

"I represent Lowell Enterprises- we're the company that manufactures most of the Zoamelgustar products, so our corporation deals rather intimately with Zoana. Here." He handed Meg a business card, which she accepted and looked over curiously.

"Lowell Enterprises? I've never heard of it."

"Magical items like the ones we produce are somewhat of a niche market, so I'm not surprised. I apologize for the abruptness, but I-"

"Meg! They were selling these cute little cakes for half price when you got a large lemonade, so I got one for us to share-" Morrigan's voice cut off the man, but he stopped talking when he got close enough to see what was going on. "-and who is this?"

"This is, um…" Meg began helplessly, but the man stepped in to introduce himself.

"Vice President of Human Resources, Lowell Enterprises. I'm here on behalf of the CEO, who's always looking for potential markets for our products."

"Lowell Enterprises?" Morrigan repeated, setting the lemonade and cake down on the bench to free his hands. He offered one hand to the man, who shook it eagerly. "I've heard the name before. You produce…"

"Mass-produced magical items." the man answered. "With the way technology is moving, our CEO sees this as the business of the future. Small things like good luck charms are not as difficult to create now as they have been in the past, and these new methods are allowing magical charms to become available to those who previously couldn't afford such things. As you may already know, Zoana and its trademarked Zoamelgustar are making a fortune off this new market. And- if I heard correctly- you're looking into economic opportunities for the Ruvinigald Kingdom?"

"Y-yes, well…" Morrigan stammered. Meg handed him the business card, and he looked it over for a moment. "…were you planning some sort of business proposal? We didn't expect to be approached about this sort of thing."

"I assumed you didn't." the businessman answered. "I noticed that you've been keeping a low profile. Don't worry, I'm doing the same- I'm not on good terms with the queen right now, and if she saw me, she might cause a ruckus." He chuckled good-naturedly. "I just thought that I might have something you'd be interested in."

"We'd be interested in? And what do you know of Ruvinigald's interests?" Morrigan questioned.

"Not much. It's just that I have some friends with connections in Ruvinigald- connections to a certain Ruvinigald _lady_."

Morrigan and Meg both stiffened and exchanged a glance between one another.

The businessman continued, pretending he hadn't seen their exchange. "I know this is no place to discuss… _business… _but I wanted to let you know that I'm here and eager to talk if you'd like to find a place to discuss the matter. I've been authorized to give you all the information I have, so-" He stopped and dug another card out of his pocket. "-here's my personal information, if you need to look me up. I look forward to talking to you."

Morrigan accepted the card, completely dumbfounded for a moment. "S-sir, wait!" he finally called when his voice began working again. "We'd be happy to speak with you about your… business proposal. It would be a pleasure to do business with you, Mister… uh…" He had already stepped forward and offered his hand again, but he had to stop and look at the card again.

"Xellos." the businessman interrupted. "And thank you. I hope that I'll be able to provide _exactly_ what you're looking for."


	5. A Fighting Chance

**[The beginning scene of this chapter contains some vivid descriptions of violence- please be aware.] **As always, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Thank you for reading, and please enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>5- A Fighting Chance<strong>

_The sharp kick from a boot sent the young man skidding across the dirt floor of the house. He came to rest in the corner of the room, a trail of blood flowing from one nostril and landing in drops on the floor. The owner of the boot was no taller than the young man, but he towered over him while the young man was on the floor, and that was all that mattered. He walked over and placed the sole of his boot against the young man's cheek, staining the boy's thick, blond hair with dirt and blood._

"_I'm going to ask you one more time, boy, and this time I want a straight answer. Where. Is. Your. Brother?"_

"_I already t-told you." the young man stammered. "I don't know."_

"LIAR_!" The old man kicked him again, this time against the wall so he had nowhere to skid and all of the kick's power could go to damaging the boy's torso. He yelped as he felt his ribs crack against the older man's power._

"_I told you!" he screamed. "I know NOTHING!"_

_A group of three men were standing off to one corner, watching. They knew better than to get involved in an argument between their father and half-brother. This was a delicate situation. The Sword of Light was missing, and _someone_ was going to get killed because of it._

"_Stand up, boy." the father ordered sharply. The young man placed a hand against the wall to steady him and began to rise to his feet, however a stab of pain in his chest caused him to pause and wince._

_This, to the father, was unacceptable._

"_I SAID STAND UP!" The father grabbed the young man's hair and yanked it upward. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"_

_The boy's breathing was ragged and blood from his chest gurgled in the back of his throat. "…what can I say… to get you to believe me…?" he begged. "What can I _do_?"_

"_Tell me where he went." the father ordered._

"_I DON'T KNOW-"_

"_SILENCE!"_

_The father slammed the boy against the wall, grabbing a knife from his belt and holding it up to the boy's throat. "If I hear you say that you don't know one more time, I'll kill you right here and now."_

"…_then what do you want me to tell you…?" the boy breathed._

"_The truth."_

"_But I _am-_" _

"_You are NOT." The father yanked the knife downward, cutting a gash in the boy's shoulder. It wasn't a lethal injury, but it _was_ painful. The boy clenched his teeth tightly, knowing a scream would only earn him more pain- or worse. The father's voice, meanwhile, grew softer. His free hand trailed along the right side of the boy's face, pushing the hair away to reveal a cloth patch that covered the boy's right eye. "Let me ask you something." he murmured. "How long has it been since that fight?"_

_The young man was silent._

"_I asked you a question."_

"…_nine years…" the young man murmured._

"_Nine years, huh? Nine years is enough time to get used to only having one eye, isn't it? Getting used to the idea that you'll never amount to anything as a swordsman?"_

_The boy heaved a deep, labored breath. "Just because I-"_

"_You will NEVER amount to ANYTHING as a swordsman. DID I STUTTER?"_

"_N-no."_

"_You still have some vision, though. You have a future. You're strong and hardworking. You'd make a good laborer. Anyone would be happy to have that chance… right?"_

"…"

"_But…" the father continued in a low voice, raising the knife to the boy's face. "…what if you lost even that? What good would you be to the world if you were blind? You lack any intelligence whatsoever- you could never be a magician or a scholar. The world has no need for a blind idiot who can't remember his name half the time. What would you do…?"_

_The young man could see the knife just centimeters away from his left eye. His breathing grew more rapid and his heart started racing. His mind, however, was firm._

"_Do whatever you want." he hissed. "You think you can get answers where there aren't any? If I give you false information just to save my hide, you'd know it right away, and I'd be in even more trouble. Go ahead. Gouge my eye out. Blind me. Take my future away from me. It won't make a difference. It won't change the fact that I _know nothing."

_The father regarded him silently for a moment, and then returned his knife to its holder in his belt. The boy exhaled in relief, but it was short-lived. The father threw him to the ground toward the group of men across the room._

"_He's as useless to us as always. Slit his throat and throw his remains in the fire. He'll at least keep the house warm while you go find that sword."_

_The men glanced at each other with grins. They'd been waiting a long time to hear that order. Slowly, they each pulled out their swords and approached the young man, eyes gleaming intently, weapons poised to-_

"_SEYRUUN!"_

_The whole room fell silent. Only the boy's labored breathing made any noise for that brief moment before he was able to catch his breath and speak again._

"_He's on his way to the Seyruun border by way of the Spearfish pass." the boy spoke as quickly as he could, his voice wracked with sobs. "Once he reaches Black Mountain he plans to travel north on the Mitchell Parkway to Seyruun City so that he can catch a wagon train to Sairaag. That's all I know- please, _please _don't kill me…" _

_The room fell silent again, save for the boy's sobs. The men glanced at one another, suddenly unsure as to whether their orders to kill the boy still stood. They looked to their father for guidance._

"_What are you standing there for? You know a shortcut to Black Mountain- go cut him off! Don't let him get to the Parkway- if you do, you'll never catch him. _GO!_"_

_As the group of men scrambled out of the room, they left their father pacing the room, staring at the sobbing boy on the floor. He watched the boy for a long moment and then finally kicked him again with a sneer._

"_Good job, kid. I guess you're not quite as stupid as we thought."_

* * *

><p>The group had given a fond farewell and 'good luck' to Gourry, who'd gone to join the group of swordsmen lining up for the competition. Amelia pointed up toward the bleachers where people were beginning to gather.<p>

"We'll be able to see better if we go up to the higher seats." Pokota pointed from his perch on Amelia's head. "But it looks like the seats are filling up fast."

"I'll go ahead and save you guys a spot!" Lina exclaimed, dashing forward toward the staircase. She got only a few steps forward when she collided with another crowd member going in the opposite direction. The two girls fell to the ground. The one Lina had bumped into was wearing a long dress, and it took her a moment to get herself back on her feet.

"I am so, _so_ sorry. I'm in a rush, and I didn't see yo-"

Lina reached a hand out to the girl, and they locked eyes. The girl immediately stopped her sentence and stared. Lina was caught off-guard by the look in the girl's eyes. It was almost as though she were transfixed.

"Watch where you're going next time." Lina replied, letting go of the girl's hand. She took note of the sword that the girl had strapped to her hip. "If you're looking to participate in the swordfighting competition, you'd better hurry. With all those people lining up, you might lose your spot."

"Th-thanks, I…" the girl stammered, finally breaking her locked gaze. "…uh, thanks."

Lina watched as the girl scurried off, holding up her skirt awkwardly as she ran. "…well, that was strange. Do you think that was…"

"That girl!" Pokota yelled, jumping off of Amelia's head and flying over onto Lina's. The sorceress shushed him.

"Not so loud."

"B-but she…" Pokota stammered softly. "…she's-"

"Adelaide, right? I had a feeling."

"That was her?" Amelia gasped, catching up to the two of them.

"Of course it was. I never bump into unimportant characters."

"Are you sure…?" Amelia glanced in the direction that the Lady had run off in. "She seemed so… _nice_."

"Nice? More like _weird_." Pokota sniffed. "Did you see the way she looked at you?"

"I wonder if she recognized me." Lina spoke, leading the way toward the staircase again. "She seemed startled- afraid, almost. If she knows that I'm here investigating her, she'll never agree to Gourry's rematch."

"Unless she doesn't know that you and Gourry are a thing." Pokota chirped.

"That's true." Amelia nodded. "If you make sure to keep your connection with Mister Gourry a secret, then-"

"And miss cheering him on?" Lina asked, starting up the wooden staircase. "Amelia, you're funny. If Gourry's going to win this tournament, it'll be because I'm cheering him on. You know that, right?"

Amelia and Pokota glanced at one another.

"So now what?" Pokota murmured. "If Lady Adelaide is onto us, then-"

"She may not be." Amelia replied. "Even if Miss Lina suspects it, I don't think Lady Adelaide knows. We should be fine. All we have to do is wait for Mister Gourry to beat her and challenge her to a rematch."

"Right." Pokota muttered. "That's assuming that Gourry can even beat her…"

"Hmm?" Amelia stopped, her feet caught between steps. "Mister Pokota, don't say such things! How could you doubt your friend's skills?"

"I'm not doubting Gourry's skills. I didn't want to say so in front of Lina because I know how she feels about Gourry, but…" Pokota lowered his voice. "…I'm wondering what we'll do if Gourry _can't_ beat her."

Amelia was quiet for a moment.

"We'll just have to hope we won't have to make that decision."

* * *

><p>Lina cheered so loudly from her spot in the stands, some people threw her dirty looks. She, however, couldn't have cared less. If there was one thing she loved almost as much as bragging about herself, it was bragging about Gourry, and she had to admit, he gave her a <em>lot <em>to brag about.

"YEAH! YOU GO, GOURRY! KICK HIM WHILE HE'S DOWN! DON'T GIVE UP, TURN AROUND- HEY! THAT'S RIGHT! 'ATTABOY! YOU'RE THE BEST!"

"Miss Lina, please calm down. He hears you, I'm sure." Amelia placed her hand on Lina's arm in an attempt to calm her.

"Are you kidding? This is the most fun I've had in weeks!" Lina laughed, though she sat down. "Look at him go! Watching Gourry slice his way through all of his opponents is nearly as fun as slicing through the opponents myself."

"We see that." Pokota mumbled. He'd started out perched on Lina's head, but very soon moved to the more stable footing that was Amelia's shoulder. "But I'm getting worried."

"Worried?"

"Doesn't it look like he's getting tired?"

The group paused, keeping their eyes on their swordsman friend.

"…I think I might've made a mistake." Lina murmured finally. "I thought this competition would have some sort of tier structure, but it's just a free-for-all. Now that Gourry's in the ring, he has to keep fighting until he defeats everyone or is defeated himself… that's no good."

"I agree." Amelia nodded her head. "This is his eighth- er, will soon be his ninth opponent. Anyone would get tired after all that fighting."

"I trust Gourry's skills," Pokota began hesitantly, "but I was concerned about his ability to defeat Lady Adelaide at his full strength. If he's exhausted like this, there's no way-"

"No way!" Lina interrupted, jumping to her feet again. "Gourry _has_ to win! YOU HEAR ME, GOURRY? DON'T GIVE UP!"

Gourry had initially been trying to give each opponent a fun, interesting fight. Many of them were younger than he was and less experienced, and he tried to hold back just enough to give them a good time. He could see his younger self in them, and thought it wouldn't be fair to end the fight right away. But, as the opponents kept coming with no sight of his intended target, he was starting to get worried. It took effort to prolong a fight when it was so easy to disarm his opponent in a single move, he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last. As much as he wanted to give these kids a fair fight, he also knew that Lina and his friends were counting on him.

Each fight ended with a handshake, and a rose was given to the exiting party- a little memento for them to gift to someone special. Gourry had ended the fight with his ninth opponent more quickly than he'd wanted, but the boy still seemed excited.

"Thanks, mister! That was really fun, and I learned a lot. Someday I'm gonna be as good a swordsman as you!"

Gourry smiled, waving with one hand and wiping sweat off his brow with the other. "When that day comes, I look forward to our rematch. Work hard until then, okay?"

"I will!"

Gourry leaned against one of the walls that marked the edge of the arena, waiting for the next opponent. By this point, he couldn't even remember them individually. It was all becoming a blur, and he wanted nothing more than for it to end. He just had to wait-

"_Our current winner is after a ten-win streak, so now's the time for things to get interesting! If he wants to keep it up, he'll have to defeat yesterday's reigning champion-"_

Gourry stiffened and straightened up when he saw the young woman who'd just entered the ring. She really _was_ Gioconda's daughter- that much he could tell by her features. Her hair, her eye shape, her lips- the only facial feature of her mother's that she really lacked was her nose. The physical resemblance was uncanny… and yet that was where the similarities ended. Gourry had been expecting something like a younger version of the Marquess, but this girl was completely different. Her gait, her expression, the way she carried herself and the aura that surrounded her were completely different.

"Nine wins." Adelaide spoke, reaching out to shake Gourry's hand. He'd gotten so used to shaking hands with large men, he had to take special care not to crush the girl's petite fingers. It made him think of Lina. "I look forward to seeing how this match turns out. Good luck."

"Same to you." Gourry replied with a nod of his head. The look in her eyes seemed to replenish his energy somewhat- it was so pure and filled with childish excitement. Whether or not this girl was a criminal, it was clear that her love for swordfighting was pure and true.

Gourry always hated the idea of fighting with women, but despite the fact that Adelaide was ready to fight in a dress and heels, he wasn't bothered at all. Perhaps it was the supportive environment of the competition, or Adelaide's true love for the art, but something about the situation calmed the chivalry in his heart and gave him nothing but excitement for this match.

With a blow of the whistle, the match started.

Gourry had gotten into the habit of holding back the past few matches, so he was immediately caught off-guard by Adelaide's speed. Pokota had been right- she was so fast, it was hard to keep up with her. Despite the knowledge that she'd trained under the Holy Sword, Gourry still had imagined that she'd have a similar fighting style to her mother. Gioconda had fought with brute force, choosing not to mask her attacks with the benefit that throwing her whole self into the strike would strengthen it. Adelaide was nothing like that. Unlike her mother, Adelaide wasn't concerned with brute force or showy displays of strength. Instead, she immediately disappeared behind Gourry, as though preparing for a strike from behind. Gourry instinctively twirled around to meet her sword head-on, but she wasn't there. Instead of striking, she'd seen him turn around and moved to his back again. He turned again, and she skipped across behind him again.

She was moving back and forth in a straight line, but Gourry wasn't, and by the time he realized what she was doing, it was too late. He staggered back, trying to keep his balance, but he was dizzy and that was difficult to do.

Despite his dizziness, Gourry's instincts picked up a cue that his opponent was about to strike, and readied himself a defense. His first idea was to go for a counter-strike, but just as he began to do that, he realized what kind of position that would put him in. That was what Adelaide wanted- for him to attempt a counterstrike that would leave him wide open. It was a common trick of the Holy Sword technique, and Gourry had long since learned how to defend against it.

The look of surprise in Adelaide's eyes as Gourry defended safely against her strike was apparent. It didn't last long, but there was a change in the girl's demeanor. Now she knew exactly why Gourry hadn't lost to the previous nine opponents.

For the first time since Gourry had entered the competition that day, Lina stopped yelling completely. She was transfixed by the fight. Adelaide and Gourry couldn't have been more different, both in their appearances and their fighting styles, and it made the conflict all the more interesting.

"Mister Pokota, you weren't joking. She's fast." Amelia murmured. "Mister Gourry can't even land a strike."

"Not just fast, she's observant too." Lina breathed. "She's already figured out Gourry's weakness and is taking advantage of it."

"Gourry has a weakness?"

"Don't you see it?" Lina lowered her voice slightly. "She's approaching him from his right every time she attacks. She's somehow figured out that he can't see as well out of his right eye."

"What- because of his hair?" Pokota moved from sitting on Amelia's shoulder to Lina's. "I always thought that hairstyle looked inconvenient-"

"I'm not really sure." Lina replied. "I haven't figured out if he can't see because of his hair, or if he grew out his hair because he can't see. Either way, the fact that she's exploiting it already is crazy. He hides it so well, it took me _years_ to notice."

"I always did think it odd that he favored his left side while fighting," Amelia spoke up. "only because he's right-handed. I never thought it had anything to do with eyesight. He notices _everything_, I couldn't imagine that he had anything other than perfect vision."

Gourry, in the heat of things, hadn't figured out why Adelaide's actions were so repetitive. He chalked it up to personal technique- she was probably trying to lure him into a sense of understanding as to where her attacks would be coming from and then was going to attack from the left when he wasn't expecting it. He wouldn't let that happen- if he could help it, of course, which was a genuine concern. This fight wouldn't be so challenging had he been prepared for it, but he was exhausted to begin with, and that made it tough. Adelaide wasn't _too_ fast for him, but she was fast enough that he was having trouble catching his breath. It was a lesson he'd learned from his childhood- proper breathing was essential for a fighter to keep close control of all his movements. If he didn't do something to end this fight quickly, he was going to regret it- and Lina would be unhappy with him for sure.

_CLANG_

The fight stopped abruptly, and it was as though the entire crowd had fallen silent at once. Gourry had gone for a strike from below, lowering his sword and swinging it upward in an attempt to get Adelaide to block it in a pose that would be easy for Gourry's strength to overpower, but… she didn't. Instead, she'd dug the blade of her own sword into the dirt, blocking Gourry's with the handle. With the elegance of the noble class into which she'd been born, she removed her hands from the grip and took a step back.

Gourry stared incredulously. She was forfeiting? _Why?_

Adelaide locked her gaze with Gourry's, an almost melancholic expression reflected in her brown eyes. "You're tired." she spoke softly.

"I'm fine." Gourry lied breathlessly. "Pick up your sword. We'll start over-"

"_Anyone_ would be tired after nine matches. I watched you hold back for many of them- that takes a lot more effort than one would imagine." Adelaide stepped forward and pulled her sword out of the dirt, only to return it to its sheath on her hip. "I _love_ swordfighting, and it's been years since I've fought anyone with your skill. I don't want to waste our match when we're not on a level playing field. I want to win- or lose- knowing it was a fair fight."

Gourry lowered his sword and stared blankly at the girl who was suddenly offering her hand to shake. He reached out and took her hand again, shaking it gently, assessing Adelaide's grip while analyzing the look in her eyes.

"A rematch, then." he replied. "Y-yes, I… think that sounds good."

Adelaide responded with a bright smile. Gourry's analysis of her features and mannerisms had been leading him to a conclusion throughout the entire fight, but this smile was the final nail in the coffin- the one in which all of Gourry's suspicions had been buried.

The others could give all the evidence they wanted, but Gourry trusted his instincts. He would fight for Adelaide's innocence no matter what.

"The fight concludes in a draw! Both participants have forfeited, and the next match will be among two new competitors."

Adelaide and Gourry began to leave the ring, listening to the announcer in the background explaining what was going to happen next. Adelaide took one of the provided roses for herself and handed another to Gourry.

"Here. You _definitely_ deserve this."

Gourry took it, examining it curiously. "What's it for?"

"To give to someone special- someone you really like." Adelaide responded wistfully. "That is, if you're not too shy."

"Shy? Why would I be shy?"

The girl shrugged. "S-sorry. I wasn't talking about you. Sometimes I just talk to hear my own voice."

"There are times when your own voice is all you have." Gourry replied with a smile of his own. "So, about that rematch-"

"_Ah!_ No, wait!"

Adelaide's voice took him off-guard and caused him to pause. "Are you okay-?"

"There's something I have to do! I'm sorry- I'll find you again later!"

Before Gourry could protest, the girl ran off into the bustling crowd that was still gathered around the outside of the makeshift coliseum. He sent a glance up to the stands and noticed that Lina, Amelia, and Pokota had already left their seats. With a sigh, he started through the crowd himself, twirling the rose in one hand absentmindedly and wondering to himself how he was going to explain what had just happened.

Adelaide, meanwhile, was rushing in the direction she'd last seen the people she was looking for. She was sure she'd seen them in this direction, but everyone seemed to be moving the opposite way, and-

"Careful there, young miss!"

Without paying attention to the people around her, Adelaide had accidentally blundered into an older man. She took a step back with a quick, apologetic bow. "I'm so sorry, sir. I'm awfully clumsy today."

"No need for apologies." the old man replied with a laugh. "I like seeing young people so full of energy! But, if you're perchance looking for the two girls with the ventriloquist dummy, the section they were sitting in uses the exit on the opposite side of the stands."

"Th-thank you!" Adelaide exclaimed, changing her direction. However, she stopped within a moment as the realization of what the man had said hit her fully. "Wait! How'd you know that I was-"

She turned around, but he was already lost amongst the crowd.

* * *

><p>"I just don't get it. Driving your sword into the ground like that is not only dangerous, it's bad for the blade." Pokota mumbled in irritation as he followed Lina and Amelia on their way to meet Gourry. "What if the earth had been packed tighter than she'd thought? What if there were bits of rock or concrete underneath? I hope she's got a good whetstone-"<p>

"Give it a rest, Pokota." Lina groaned. "You can lecture _her_ later."

"Yeah, okay…" the prince sighed, landing on Lina's head. "…it just makes me angry to see people misusing fine craftsmanship like that. That was a _nice_ sword she had there."

"I know… I'd love to know where she got it." Lina spoke, more to herself than anyone else. "If we could get them to make a sword for Gourry-"

"Excuse me! H-hey! Wait a minute!"

Lina and Amelia stopped abruptly, turning around to see who was yelling. It was a big crowd, and they were sure it must be a call for someone else, but… the sight of the girl who was yelling and waving coming right up to them caught them by surprise.

"…s-sorry… I saw you in the stands, and you left suddenly… I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find you…" Adelaide exclaimed as she stopped to catch her breath. "I hope I didn't startle you or anything."

Lina, Pokota, and Amelia all exchanged confused glances.

"You didn't startle us." Amelia finally spoke up. "But… what is it you want from us?"


	6. Cover Story

As always, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>6- Cover Story<strong>

"_Here you go. That's all of it."_

_The coins made a lot of racket spilling out onto the table, but noise was hardly an issue when it was the noise of rattling coins. The young man had counted them out carefully, and made sure that it was all there._

"_The replica sword worked?" Across the table, the small animal and his beastman companion were holding onto the real Sword of Light. The animal had wanted to hand it over right away, but the beastman had stopped him and insisted that they be paid in full first._

"_Yes. They fell for it. There was no indication that they could tell a difference." the boy nodded with a smile. "We… made a deal, and they took the replica sword. That was that."_

_The little animal moved to hand back the original, but the beastman stopped him again. "What sort of deal?"_

"_W-well, they… they said their orders were to bring _me_ back too." the boy replied. "I had to think of something… so I… I made a promise that I'd go into hiding. You have to keep this transaction a secret- if my father finds out that I'm alive, it'll be _bad_."_

"_So you convinced your brothers to accept the replica sword without a fight in exchange for sparing your life and alleging your death?" the beastman spoke. _

"_Half-brothers, but yes."_

"_Young man," the beastman stood up and began walking to the other side of the table, eyeing the boy carefully. "do you know what it means to _go into hiding_?"_

"_Yes." _

"_Are you sure?"_

"_I'm… pretty sure…"_

"_Pretty sure? As in, changing-your-name, sure? Cutting off all ties with people you once knew and loved, sure? Leaving the life you once led and _never going back_, sure?"_

"…_I…" The boy glanced down at his feet. "…I'm certain my brother would never-"_

"_Your brother? This is the one you said knew of your plans and would cover for you, right? The one who _claimed _he would keep it a secret, yet somehow your half-brothers found their way to this village almost as soon as you did with little hesitation or uncertainty?"_

_The boy was silent. "He couldn't have. He wouldn't. He'd die before he-"_

_The conversation came to an abrupt halt._

"…_no… he _wouldn't_ die. He promised- _we _promised. We said we'd do whatever it took to live. Maybe he was just doing what he had to in order to survive- oh no!" The boy jumped to his feet in shock. "If they threatened him enough to get that answer from him, what else have they made him tell them? I have to help him! What if father finds out that he was in on the plot to steal the sword to begin with? That he encouraged me? That he's not really blind, and for years he's been-"_

"_Stop. Think." The beastman grabbed hold of the boy's shoulder, preventing him from running off. "What will happen if you go back?"_

"_B-but I can't let them hurt him because of me! I have to-"_

"_Didn't you say you'd made a promise to do what you had to in order to survive? Wouldn't going back be breaking that promise?"_

"_But if I don't, he might-"_

"_You have to trust the ones you love. Your brother is a good swordsman, isn't he?"_

_The boy stopped struggling. "…the best I've ever met." he breathed._

"_He can take care of himself, can't he?"_

"_Yes, he can."_

"_He jeopardized your wellbeing in order to save his own life, knowing that you're intelligent and resourceful and would be alright in the end. As long as you trust him, you can do the same."_

"…_I _did _promise…"_

_The little animal watching the conversation finally decided that it was his turn to intervene. He grabbed the Sword of Light and a handful of the coins and brought them over to the boy._

"_Here. Take your sword back- and a little something extra to help you get to Sairaag."_

"_R-really?" the boy blinked. "Are you sure?"_

"_Hey, we don't want you to resort to stealing to get where you want to go, do we?"_

_The boy hugged the sword to his chest, gripping the coins tightly in his hand. "…I can't thank you enough for this. For the replica and everything. If it weren't for you, who knows what would've happened to me?"_

* * *

><p>"You didn't startle us." Amelia finally spoke up. "But… what is it you want from us?"<p>

Adelaide suddenly seemed to forget what it was she wanted to say, and she tugged at her skirt awkwardly. She was looking at the ground, so it was hard to tell who she was trying to address. "W-well, uh… the thing is… I just… I saw you in the stands while I was fighting, and… I know we don't know each other or anything… but it made me so happy, and I just… I wanted to… um… for you, I… uh…" She seemed to realize she wasn't making any sense, and that just made her face redder. Frantically, she dug into the bag that she had over her shoulder and pulled out the rose she'd been given, thrusting it in Lina and Pokota's direction. "Here!"

Lina flinched, but Pokota didn't seem to realize what was going on. The flower hit him in the face and he produced an animal-like squeal of surprise. Adelaide's eyes opened and she retracted the flower as soon as she saw what had happened.

"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- I mean- I just-"

"Hey, calm down." Lina murmured, reaching out for the rose. Adelaide handed it to her, and she then passed it on to the little animal that was still half-stunned, sitting on her head. "If you'd wanted to give him the flower, you should've just said so."

"Um… well… actually…"

"For me?" Pokota gasped, shaking his head to dispel his former confusion and taking the rose in his hands. "Gee, I don't know what to say. Th-thanks…"

"How sweet! It even matches your cape!" Amelia cooed.

"This is really kind of you." Pokota continued, using the flower to adorn the tie of his cape. "How's that? Does that look good?"

"Y-yeah." Adelaide mumbled. "I'm sorry to bother you. I'll go now-"

"Adelaide, wait." Lina stepped in and grabbed hold of the girl's arm as she began walking away.

There was a pause in which Adelaide stood still. She then turned slowly towards Lina, her earlier embarrassment seemingly having disappeared.

"…how do you know my name?"

Lina had to think for a moment to figure out the most tactful way of putting it. "I've, uh, heard about you. I'm here on behalf of the Ruvinigald Kingdom-"

Adelaide's eyes widened. "You're… from the government?"

"N-no, that's not-"

"_Hey! Lina!_"

Lina wasn't sure whether to cringe or breathe a sigh of relief at the sound of Gourry's voice. He came running, waving one hand with a big smile on his face. It was only when he caught up to the group and noticed Adelaide that his expression changed to one of curiosity.

"Whoa, where'd you come from? I thought there was something you needed to do?"

"Th-there was…" Adelaide's face flushed and she averted her gaze. "But that's been, uh, taken care of."

"She came by to give a rose to Mister Pokota!" Amelia chimed, pointing out the flower that currently adorned the little animal's cape. Pokota blushed sheepishly in response.

"You don't have to make a big deal out of it…"

"Hey, why didn't you tell me you had your eye on Pokota?" Gourry asked, picking the stuffed animal up off Lina's head and placing him in Adelaide's hands. "We're friends! I could hook you up!"

"Th-thanks, but… no thanks." Adelaide tried to hand Pokota back to Gourry, eliciting an outburst from the prince.

"Hey, hey! Don't hand me back and forth like I'm some inanimate object!"

Gourry ignored him. He was too focused on something else.

"Speaking of roses, I thought I'd come give this to you."

Lina stared at the flower Gourry had offered her, almost afraid to take it. "F-for me?" she stammered.

"Well, you're always talking about roses- something about pretty roses having thorns, right? It reminded me of you…"

Lina felt awkward all of a sudden, but she accepted the flower as gracefully as possible, holding it close. Seeing the participants with the roses, she'd fully expected Gourry to hand it off to the first girl he met, or perhaps even Adelaide, dismissing her hope of receiving his favor as a childish fantasy. "Th-thank you, Gourry."

"…'cause this rose has a _lot_ of thorns!"

"_GOURRY!"_

Maybe it wasn't such a heartfelt gesture after all.

"Um, should I… leave you guys alone…?" Adelaide took a step back and pointed away from the group. "I don't want to intrude-"

"Please, wait a moment." Amelia reached out to her. "We'd like to talk to you. Is that alright?"

"What about?" Adelaide asked nervously. "I've told the government _everything_- I don't know what they still expect to-"

"I'm not from Ruvinigald. I have no ties to Ruvinigald." Amelia assured her. "I apologize for not introducing myself earlier- I'm Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, of the kingdom of Seyruun."

"P-Princess?" Adelaide stammered. "I'm sorry, your highness, I had no idea-"

"Don't worry about it." Amelia replied with a smile. "Of course you wouldn't know- we've never met, right?"

"Well, that's true." Adelaide scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "But I lived in Seyruun for a few years, so I really should know that."

"While we're getting introductions out of the way, I'm Prince Posel Korba Taforashia, of the kingdom of Taforashia." Pokota extended a hand to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Adelaide."

"Prince." Adelaide breathed, and quickly bowed. "I'm so sorry for all the confusion. Thank you for accepting my token of…" She paused, staring at the rose in his cape, trying to decide on a word. "…gratitude."

"Thank you for extending it to me." Pokota replied. "You really don't have to be so nervous. We don't want to intimidate you. We're just curious."

"Curious about what? About how the Ruvinigald government is taking my inheritance away for no good reason?"

"Yes, actually, we are." Lina had finally distributed what she deemed the proper amount of punishment to Gourry and returned to the conversation. "Would it be alright if we spoke with you privately about it?"

Adelaide averted her gaze. "Why?"

"Because we know you're innocent and we want to prove it." Gourry replied before anyone else could get a word in edgewise. "We'll do whatever it takes- just trust us."

Lina balked. The last thing she wanted was for Gourry to make promises that they couldn't keep, but she couldn't take back what he'd already said.

Adelaide's facial expression made it clear that she hadn't expected that response. "Y-you mean it?" she gasped.

"Of course. That's why we want to know what's going on." Gourry nodded. "You'll allow us that, won't you?"

"Yes! I'll tell you everything- I have nothing to hide, I promise!"

The group exchanged glances between one another. That was a lot easier than they thought it would be.

* * *

><p>"I'm not good at just talking. You're going to have to ask me some questions."<p>

Adelaide sat on the edge of a fountain in one of the city's newly-established parks. The group had eaten a light evening meal on the festival grounds and then made their way to an area that was private enough for their purposes. Lina and Gourry sat next to Adelaide on the fountain and Amelia and Pokota on the other side, so as to make it feel more like a friendly conversation than an interrogation. They all knew that Adelaide was not under any oath, so they had to be skeptical of what she was saying.

"I suppose I'll ask the first question." Lina spoke up in response. "Can you tell us a little about your relationship with your mother?"

"My mother? What do you know about my mother?" Adelaide blinked in surprise.

Lina's expression remained neutral. "I'll give you our answer after you give us yours."

"Okay. Do you want the canned spiel for social services, or the _real_ story now that I'm no longer a minor?"

"You decide." Lina replied. "You promised to tell us the truth, so you choose which one is closer to your truth."

Adelaide was quiet a moment. "_My _truth, huh? That's an interesting way to put it. My feelings for my mother are… impossible to put into words."

"Impossible?"

"Well, impossible without resorting to words that should never taint the mouth of a proper lady."

Lina's eyebrows raised in surprise. "You feel very passionate about it, then."

"It's tough." Adelaide murmured, staring down at her feet as she began to swing them back and forth. "I've read enough books to know that the honorable thing to do is to say 'you've wronged me, but I don't hate you.' I know you're supposed to forgive people, especially after their deaths. But, no matter how hard I try, I can't do it. I can't help but _hate_ my mother. I know she's family, but she… she _hurt _me."

"I can't say I don't understand your feelings." Lina replied softly. "Trust me."

"Really?"

"But we're talking about your family, not mine."

"R-right." Adelaide nodded. "It would be one thing if it was just what she did to me, but she… she killed my dad in cold blood. She murdered him with no regard for the sake of anyone or anything besides her own twisted desires… my step-father, I mean. I never knew my birth father, but I suppose she killed him too. I don't understand why she married if all she wanted were victims to die by her sword."

"…_some people are into some really kinky stuff…"_ Lina mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I didn't say anything."

"What's your connection to my mother anyway? You're not… the Lina Inverse who was present when she was overtaken by the Zanaffar armor and consumed to feed the-" Adelaide stopped abruptly, seeing Lina's grave expression. "-n-no. You couldn't be. You… all of you…"

"We were there- all four of us." Amelia spoke up. "I'm so sorry, Miss Adelaide."

"The one who killed her was a dear friend of mine." Pokota added on. "He wanted revenge for what she'd done for Taforashia. The Ruvinigald authorities insisted that she get a fair trial, but… Duclis wouldn't allow it. He activated the Zanaffar within her and, in doing so, killed her-"

"_He _killed her? I refuse to believe that!" Adelaide jumped to her feet, the tears she'd held back finally streaming down her face. "It was her own doing. She was the one who had the Zanaffar armor made in the first place. Fair trial, my foot- where was the _fair trial _when she used me as nothing more than a glorified lab rat? Where was the _fair trial _when she murdered each one of her four husbands, my father included? Where was the _fair trial _for all the Ruvinigald citizens that she stole from and lied to-?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH." Lina's voice echoed around the empty park. "Let's focus on another question."

"Y-yes, of course." Adelaide sat down, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"How about this?" Pokota piped up from his perch on Amelia's shoulder. "If you hate your mother so much, why are you so determined to get your hands on her estate? You have access to her money- isn't that enough? What has so much sentimental value that you'd risk allegations of such terrible crimes for it?"

"That is," Lina spoke up. "assuming that you really _aren't _continuing your mother's experiments like you say."

"Her _experiments_?" Adelaide gasped. "You mean the ones that robbed me of my childhood and nearly destroyed my life? I've seen firsthand how people get hurt in experiments like that- I'd _never_ inflict that on _anyone_! I-I couldn't… see someone suffer… like I did…" By the time her voice finally trailed off, tears were pooling at the edge of her eyes again, and she wiped them away with a sniffle before continuing. "I'd be happy to let the rest of her belongings be destroyed like her castle was. But, unfortunately…"

There was a pause, and the girl stared down at her feet. Lina had to admit, if Adelaide was lying, she was doing one heck of a job.

"…when my mother killed each of her husbands, she mounted their swords for display in a private room somewhere in her summer home in Lyzeille. My step-father- _my dad- _was the one who taught me everything I know about swordfighting. He _loved_ the art. That was the whole reason he married my mother: so that he could focus on the art behind his technique without worrying about money or a livelihood. To think of his prized sword being hung on a wall like the head of a deer is… sickening." Adelaide took a deep breath and sat down again. "I want my dad's sword back. I want it to feel the thrill of battle again. I feel that it's… what my dad would've wanted. Is that strange?"

"Not at all." Gourry responded, reaching over Lina to grab hold of one of Adelaide's hands.

Lina scooted back somewhat to give Gourry an easier time reaching out to Adelaide. "If the sword is all you want, why can't you just ask for it? I'm sure that, if you agree to surrender the rest of the estate, the government would be more than happy to give you just that one sword."

"I wish it were that simple." Adelaide replied, still gripping Gourry's hand tightly. "My mother collected hundreds of swords. There's no way that someone without the knowledge of what my dad's sword looked like could ever find it. I've tried to draw a picture of it from memory, but… it's been so long, I can't recall all the details. I'd know it if I saw it, and I've asked to go search for it myself, but, well… you can see how well that went."

"Where is this summer home?" Amelia asked.

"It's Chateau Augustine, on Kachemak Bay, northern coast of Lyzeille."

"Oh." The princess gave a gasp of surprise. "Very… _remote_."

"Kachemak Bay? That's surrounded by a wildlife preserve." Lina agreed. "There's literally _nothing_ there."

Adelaide shrugged. "Mother always did like her privacy."

"So what you're saying is," Lina began, crossing her arms as she delved deeper into thought. "if we go to Chateau Augustine and get you the sword you want so badly, you'll drop all claim to the estate and leave it in the hands of the Ruvinigald government?"

"Yes." Adelaide responded firmly. "The sword is all I want."

There was a pause in which the members of the group glanced at one another. Lina grabbed Gourry and Adelaide's wrists, pulling their hands apart so that she could stand up. "Lady Adelaide, would you mind if I conversed with my companions for a few minutes?"

"Take all the time you need." Adelaide replied.

* * *

><p>"I think she's telling the truth."<p>

"I agree. There doesn't seem to be any indication that she's lying."

Amelia and Pokota voiced their opinions outright and without hesitation. Lina had expected as much- Amelia was the type to be easily swayed by an emotional story, and Pokota's personal grudge against Gioconda over the Taforashia incident naturally made him someone who'd sympathize with Adelaide's alleged plight.

"I understand your reasoning, Amelia, Pokota. But you have to remember that you're royalty. The decisions that you make in regards to this case will have international effects."

"We know that." Amelia replied. "Believing Miss Adelaide's story and acting on it are two very different things. While I hate to see a girl my own age wrongly accused of such a terrible crime, I understand that my actions could cause trouble for Seyruun if Ruvinigald decides that I'm obstructing justice."

"Ruvinigald and Taforashia are already in a very fragile state of affairs. I know I have to be careful in deciding how to act." Pokota agreed. His tone turned fervent as his emotions rose higher. "But this girl has been wronged by the same woman who wronged my people! How could I turn my back on her?!"

Lina grabbed him by the back of his cape, pulling the rose out of the tie in the front. "I'm not asking you not to support her." she spoke, tapping him on the nose with the flower. "I'm asking you to think with your head, not with your heart. Okay?"

Pokota blushed slightly. "Wh-what are you implying? I always think with my head!"

"Of course you do. You're a prince, after all." Lina shrugged and handed the rose back to him. "So, what about you, Gourry? You've been awfully quiet."

"I've made my opinion clear."

"And you, Miss Lina?" Amelia asked.

Lina closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "I guess, while I'm suspicious of Adelaide, I'm also suspicious of this whole setup. Something about this doesn't feel right to me, and the only way to find out what's _really _going on is to dig deeper. If supporting Adelaide will do that, then that's what I'll do."

Amelia and Pokota, assuming that Lina's statement finalized the conversation, turned back around and ran to Adelaide with words of encouragement and support. Lina sighed, hoping desperately that they weren't making promises they couldn't keep, and began walking back to the fountain. Gourry, however, reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Huh? What are you-?"

"Listen. There's something important you should know."

Gourry's expression was stern, and it made Lina nervous. "What do you mean?"

"I trust that Adelaide is telling the truth when she says she's innocent. All that she told us about her relationship with her mother- I don't doubt her honesty. But… just now… when I was holding her hand and she said that her dad's sword was the only thing she wanted from her mother's estate- she was lying."


	7. Choosing Sides

As per usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>7- Choosing Sides<strong>

"_He's around her somewhere- he's _got _to be!"_

"_I've checked this area already. There's no sign of him. It's like he's disappeared-"_

"_You idiot! There's no way that's possible! You're starting to sound just like him-"_

"_-no way I'd ever talk like that stupid excuse for a-"_

"_-less talking, more searching, you two! If we don't get that sword back before father gets home, it'll be _our _lives on the line!"_

"_Why'd father have to marry a second time anyway? Those two brats have been nothing but trouble since the day they were born."_

"_They must've planned this. One steals the sword and fails, the other waiting to swipe it from under our noses when our guard was down…."_

_The young man's sharp ears easily picked up the voices of his half-brothers as they tore through the dark forest. He was 99% certain that they wouldn't find him in the small cavern in which he'd taken shelter, but the 1% of uncertainty was clawing at his stomach. His chest felt tight- since the moment he had heard of his little brother's death, sharp, grievous sobs had been tearing through his mind, begging to be released. But, if he cried now, he would give himself away. Even if his brother's promise to stay alive had been broken, his still stood._

_In the meantime, he clutched the Sword of Light close to his chest. The upheaval of the past few hours had completely changed his mentality. To hell with waiting until he was eighteen- his little brother had _died _to get this sword away from their abusive family. The little brother _he_ was supposed to protect. _

_There were a lot of thoughts that had run through his mind before then, and which would run through his mind in the years to come: _should'ves, could'ves, would'ves… _but now he wasn't letting that cloud his vision. He'd removed the eye-patch that he'd worn for years to conceal the sight in his right eye, and suddenly it was as though the entire world had opened up. He could see _everything_. _

_And he hoped no one could see him._

Please, please… they can't find me. _he thought to himself fervently. _I'm a jellyfish. I'm transparent. Light goes right through me. They'll never be able to find a jellyfish… surely…

* * *

><p>Lina stared at him speechlessly for a moment. "How do you know that?"<p>

"As a swordsman, I have to be in tune to nuances in body language. When someone's lying, it's often easy to tell by their breathing and heart rate. I don't know what else she wants from the chateau-whatever-it's-called, or why she isn't willing to tell us, but… I thought you needed to know that."

"…I see…" Lina murmured softly. "I had a feeling that her desires weren't so open-and-shut, but not knowing what it is she wants makes me nervous. Maybe this is a bad idea-"

"Excuse me."

"AAH!" Lina and Gourry were so wrapped up in their conversation, they hadn't been paying attention to their surroundings. "_Z-Zelgadis_!" Lina gasped. "What are you doing here? Where've you been?"

"Well, for the past thirty minutes, looking for you two." The chimera growled, crossing his arms in annoyance. "What have you been doing all day? You said that you were going to interview Pokota and then report back immediately to Inspector Mor-"

"Yeah, yeah, we know what we said." Lina interrupted him, reaching up to grab hold of the back of his shirt collar. "But forget that for a minute, will you? There's someone you need to meet."

"But-" Zelgadis was unable to get a word in edgewise before Lina grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the fountain. Amelia had been talking with Pokota and Adelaide, but upon hearing the group approaching, she turned to look at them. Her eyes immediately lit up and a big smile covered her face.

"_Zelgadis_!" Amelia ran toward him, looking ready to embrace him, and Lina let go of his arm to give the couple room. Instead of hugging Zelgadis, Amelia grabbed hold of both of his hands and twirled him around a few times before dizzily stumbling into his arms. She giggled, looking up at him playfully.

"Amelia, I'm working right now." Zelgadis put his hand on the top of her head and pushed her gently away. "Inspector Morrigan made it clear that he needs to speak with Lina and Gourry _immediately_. He doesn't seem like the patient type, so it's probably better that we go ahead and-"

It was as though his entire train of thought had suddenly ended. Amelia saw him looking intently in the direction she'd run from, his ears perked up and his skin bristling like an animal that had sensed a threat.

"…Amelia… who is _that_?"

Amelia nervously glanced backwards. "You mean… Miss Adelaide?"

"_That's_ Lady Adelaide?"

"Yes. That's who Miss Lina and Mister Gourry wanted to introduce you to. Here, let's-"

"Ow, ow! Hey! Watch those fingernails!" Pokota's voice carried over the sound of the fountain and the other conversations and caught the rest of the group's attention. Adelaide, who'd been examining his ears just the moment before, let go of her grip that had suddenly tightened for no discernable reason.

"I-I'm so sorry, Prince!" Adelaide blushed, glancing in every direction except for Pokota's. "I don't know what got into me! I guess I got nervous all of a sudden and I…" She stopped and looked up, her gaze drawn directly to where Amelia and Zelgadis were standing. "…ah. H-hello." The girl gave a polite bow in their direction.

"Zelgadis, this is Lady Adelaide, of the Ruvinigald Kingdom." Amelia motioned. "Miss Adelaide, this is Sir Zelgadis Greywords, a knight of Seyruun who is currently employed by the Ruvinigald Kingdom." She stood between them as though trying to facilitate a friendly handshake, but that didn't happen. Adelaide began to reach out to Zelgadis as though she were going to shake his hand, but then drew it back nervously before it got very far. Zelgadis, meanwhile, had his hands buried in his pockets.

"Nice to meet you, Sir Greywords." Adelaide gave a polite curtsey. "…um…"

"It's nice to meet _you_, Lady Adelaide." Zelgadis simply nodded his head. "Now, if Lina and Gourry will just-"

"MISS LINA? MISTER GOURRY?"

Zelgadis cringed. "_Great_. Now _I'm _the one who's going to be in trouble."

Inspector Morrigan stormed across the empty park, making a beeline for where Lina and Gourry were standing, waving one hand wildly. Meg was following him as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast with the nervous, delicate way she always walked, and she was trailing behind somewhat. Lina walked forward to meet Morrigan halfway, a smile on her face, but he didn't respond with the same enthusiasm.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET BACK WITH US AS SOON AS YOU FINISHED GATHERING EVIDENCE PRINCE POSEL-" The man stopped yelling only when he noticed the group of people who were gathered around the fountain. "-now, who is this?"

"_As you can see_," Lina began in irritation, never happy to be yelled at, "this_ is _Prince Posel, along with some of his companions. We weren't finished with the negotiations yet."

"What's all this about evidence?" Pokota ran over and jumped up onto the little platform Lina had made for him with her hands so that he could speak with Morrigan face to face. "Miss Lina and her bodyguard approached me about the potential for repairing the already rocky relationship between Taforashia and Ruvinigald through a series of business deals. I didn't realize that my answers were being analyzed as… evidence in a court case?"

Morrigan's face paled slightly. "Y-your highness, I… I didn't mean… er… that's-"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I figured something was up, so I managed to pull the information about the investigation from Lina and Gourry. They were adamant about maintaining the secrecy of their mission, so I'm surprised that their employer would be so casual about releasing the information he insisted that they keep hidden."

Inspector Morrigan glanced around helplessly, his mouth hanging open as he tried to figure out what to do. Meg finally caught up to him, grabbing hold of his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

"Thanks for the support Pokota, but there's no need to be so hard on Inspector Morrigan." Lina patted the little animal's head gently. "He's just a little overzealous about his job, that's all."

"Y-yes, I…" Morrigan's shoulders were hunched over and he spoke toward the ground at first, then picking his head up and declaring the rest of his sentence confidently. "I've discovered evidence that should allow us to close this case once and for all."

There was a silence as the group took in what Inspector Morrigan had said. Lina and Gourry glanced at one another, their eyes lighting up.

"Really?" Gourry gasped. "You hear that, Adelaide? That settles it!"

Adelaide, who had been sitting in the back, out of sight of the inspector, suddenly ran forward to join them in the front. "Is that true?" she gasped.

Inspector Morrigan blinked a few times, staring at her. "_You_ are… Lady Adelaide?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good. That makes things so much easier."

_CLICK_

"Lady Adelaide, you are hereby under arrest, by authority of the Ruvinigald Kingdom. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right-"

"_WHAT_?!" Adelaide shrieked, tugging at the handcuffs around her wrists. She looked desperately over to the rest of the group. "Wh-what's going on? I thought you said that you were going to help me prove my _innocence_!"

"-to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed-"

"We _are_!" Lina yelled, positioning herself between Inspector Morrigan and Adelaide as best she could. "Inspector, what do you think you're doing?"

"What am I doing? I'm arresting this criminal, of course." Morrigan barked in reply. "Meg and I have uncovered more than enough evidence than would be needed to convince a jury to indict her. This woman is going to be imprisoned for a _very_ long time… should the judge be so lenient."

"…evidence…?" Lina murmured, turning now to look at Adelaide.

"I don't know what he's talking about!" Adelaide shrieked again, starting to sob. "I didn't do anything! Everything I told you just now was the truth! You've gotta believe me, PLEASE-"

Lina's accusatory glare turned from Adelaide back to the inspector. "Inspector Morrigan, how reliable do you consider this information that you've just received? You ever heard of a _frame job_?"

Morrigan didn't respond to the question. "Miss Inverse, I have not yet finished reading this woman her rights. If you do not move out of the way, I'll have to arrest you for obstruction of justice." His stern expression softened slightly as he continued in a whisper. "_Please_. I _need_ this case."

After a tense pause, Lina finally gave a sigh and answered. "Well, then. I might as well move out of the way. I wouldn't want to get arrested _twice_ by the Ruvinigald Kingdom."

"…pardon?" Morrigan questioned. "Twice?"

"Huh? You haven't heard about my criminal background? Don't tell me Ruvinigald has cleared my record after all that happened." Lina spoke casually, examining her fingernails in a show of blatant disinterest in the conversation. "It was a pretty bogus charge, but I was undeniably guilty. If your government is corrupt enough to drop charges against a guilty party just because it's convenient for them, how can I trust that they won't convict an innocent party when that's what's convenient?"

Inspector Morrigan's whole body seemed to tense up. "Th-that's irrelevant in this situation!"

"Maybe so." Lina shrugged. "But I just thought you should know what kind of stock I put in Ruvinigald's idea of 'justice.' Why don't you tell me just where you received this miraculous bundle of evidence first?"

"I spoke with an informant who wishes to remain anonymous." Morrigan responded curtly. "I cannot breach our agreement of confidentiality."

Lina clicked her tongue disdainfully. "Well, isn't that a shame?"

"I have documentation! The information checks out!"

"You're sure? Of information you just got today? From an anonymous tip?"

"I trust information from an impartial source more than I trust testimony from the alleged criminal!"

"That's too bad." Lina reached for the handcuffs. "C'mon, Adelaide. What do you say we go search for some hard evidence-"

"LINA INVERSE." Morrigan barked before her hand could reach the metal. "Lay one hand on those handcuffs and I _will _arrest you on obstruction of justice charges. That is punishable by up to five years in prison- I _beg_ of you, _STOP_."

Lina smirked. "You'll have to catch me first. _BURST RONDO!"_

There were various yelps throughout the park area, and the air was clouded with smoke and debris. Immediately, Lina scooped up Adelaide in her arms and chanted a _raywing _spell under her breath. All she cared about was that she and Adelaide make a clean getaway- they were the only ones that Morrigan had reason to arrest, after all. Lina's friends would be able to get up with her later. That wasn't the main concern.

"Hey, hey- quiet down, would you?" Lina scolded. Adelaide had been screaming nonstop since the initial spell, and it was getting annoying.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl shot back, "were my SCREAMS OF TERROR bothering you?!"

It seemed that she had more of an attitude than Lina had originally given her credit for. "You're officially on the run from the law. Do you want to lead the police straight to us while you're still in handcuffs?"

"I-" Adelaide began, but closed her mouth again with a sigh. "…at least let me fly on my own. I'm a sorceress too, y'know."

"No-can-do, princess. I've officially put my butt on the line for you, so I'm responsible for your well-being. Besides, now that the smoke's almost cleared, we'll have to go it on foot. Being in the air is too noticeable."

"But-!" Adelaide's attempts at protesting were in vain. Lina's plans were already firm, as though she'd been preparing for this possibility for a long time.

Lina landed on the ground but kept Adelaide in her arms, surveying the area and trying to get her bearings. "The best thing to do would be to get out of Zoana as quickly as possible. The country's so small, it's practically a city-state, and as soon as they know that there's a fugitive of the law within the boundaries, they'll step up border security. We've got to get out of here before that happens-"

"Lina. Hand her over."

The voice caught both Lina and her new companion off-guard. The air was still hazy and Lina was sure that no one had been able to see the direction she and Adelaide had flown, yet there in front of them, blocking their path, was a familiar face. He was holding his sword in a defensive position, the blade dyed a deep red with infused magic.

"Z-Zelgadis! How did you-" Lina gasped, shifting the position of the girl in her arms and attempting to turn around. Zelgadis was fast, however, and he kept cutting her off wherever she turned.

"We don't have time for this, you two! Adelaide, put your hands up."

"Not a chance!" Lina assumed it was alright to answer for Adelaide. She wasn't going to back down, no matter what the girl's personal resolve was.

Zelgadis was suddenly directly in front of them, his sword raised above them and poised to strike. "Adelaide, put your hands up."

"PLEASE!" Desperately, Adelaide followed his instructions before Lina could do anything. "Don't hurt me, please!"

_KRACK! _

Zelgadis' magically-infused sword cut through the chain on the handcuffs easily, broken bits of metal falling onto the ground in front of them. As soon as the chain was cut, the magic around the sword dissipated and Zelgadis placed the weapon back in its sheath.

"We'll get the cuffs off your wrists later, but for now you at least have the freedom to move your arms. There's an underground tunnel system connecting Zoana with some of the neighboring countries. I'll show you where the entrance is- we can take the tunnel north to Selmatt and then west through Ralteague until we get past the Ralteague-Lyzeille border. Once we're in the country, we won't have to worry about border security and we can take some of the back roads up to Kachemak Bay."

Zelgadis was running ahead of them, but Adelaide was still staring at the broken chain on her handcuffs and Lina was confused.

"Zel, you… you're on _our_ side?"

"Obviously. Now let's get going. We can't wait around and let Inspector Morrigan catch up with us."

Lina exchanged a glance with Adelaide, the latter looking so helpless and frightened that Lina couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"You heard the man." Lina finally had to grab hold of Adelaide's arm. "Let's go. We can't afford to wait any longer."

"Wh-what about Gourry? And Prince Posel?" Adelaide stammered.

"Gourry's a smart guy, even if he doesn't seem it. He always catches up eventually." Lina spoke as she pulled Adelaide along. "But, as for Amelia and Pokota, it'll be best not to get them involved. They're royalty, and taking part in a scandal like this could cause a major stir."

"…ah…" Adelaide murmured, though she looked disappointed.

Through the haze, Lina was able to pick out the shape of a large building drawing closer. "This way." Zelgadis motioned, dashing up the front steps onto the porch.

"What are we doing? This is the game warden's office and private home." Adelaide protested. "We can't go in here-"

"Don't be silly. This is where the tunnel lets out." Zelgadis interrupted, digging into his pocket and pulling out the pin he always used to pick locks. "Zoana certainly isn't an evil country, but it's not a rich country either, and any money that they can make off of poaching and the black market is fair game in their eyes. The warden and her subordinates use this tunnel system to smuggle illegal animals and plants to other countries to be sold, and then bring the money back to Zoana where it's distributed in small amounts to poor families who agree to put it all into the local economy."

"And isn't it the greatest joy of all when something used for evil purposes can be used instead for Justice?"

Zelgadis was leaning so heavily on the door, he almost fell over when it opened. "_Amelia_!" he gasped. "What do you think you're doing here?!"

"Lending you a hand, of course." Amelia smiled proudly. "Mister Gourry and Mister Pokota have already found the tunnel door and are prying it open as we speak."

"How did you get here before we did?"

"You went to find Miss Lina and Miss Adelaide, while we ran straight here."

"But- I mean-"

Lina pushed Zelgadis into the house and then pulled Adelaide in after them so that she could slam the door. "Hurry up! We can discuss this later- when we're not in danger of getting caught."

"R-right."


	8. Frame of Mind

I apologize for the delay on this chapter. As usual, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy.

* * *

><p><strong>8- Frame of Mind<strong>

There were no lights in the tunnel, so Lina and her friends took turns supplying _lighting _spells. It was obvious that it was a pre-existing solution cave that had been widened by man-made tools into a passageway. It was damp and cold, but at least there seemed to be no sign that anyone had discovered them.

The entrance to the tunnel had been underneath the bed in the back bedroom. Gourry had moved the bed just enough for everyone to climb down the slippery rope ladder into the cavern below, and Pokota was small enough that he was able to put the bed back in place before climbing into the tunnel and closing the door behind them.

"…it's cold in here. How far are we walking?" Adelaide finally asked after the group had continued on for some time without conversation.

"As far as it takes to get to Lyzeille." Zelgadis replied. "It'll be almost ten kilometers north to Selmatt, and then west another kilometer or two into Ralteague. We'll continue aboveground then until the tunnels pick up close to the Lyzeille border- once we're _in _Lyzeille, we won't have to worry about tight border security and can travel more easily."

"Won't we be wanted, though?" Gourry asked. "We _are _harboring a supposedly dangerous criminal. There'll be people all over looking for us."

"It's not like we haven't been wanted before." Lina muttered, staring at the ceiling in an attempt to avoid the drops of water that kept hitting her head. "We've seen our mugs on way more wanted posters than I'd ever care to. That's never slowed us down."

"But what about Amelia and Pokota?" Zelgadis asked. "Even though they're here willingly- or so I assume- their lack of outward support for Adelaide in the beginning will probably lead officials to believe they've been kidnapped."

"_AH!" _Pokota growled in frustration. "I wasn't thinking this through! If the prince of Taforashia is kidnapped by a criminal of the Ralteague kingdom, relations between the two countries will get even worse! It's already bad- this could start a _war_."

"No..." Adelaide breathed, stopping and putting a hand over her mouth.

"M-my dad wouldn't let that happen." Amelia quickly intervened. "He knows the relationship I have with Miss Lina. There's no way that she could ever kidnap me, and surely he'll vouch the same for Mister Pokota… Seyruun won't let Ralteague and Taforashia go to war."

"But Amelia, how is Seyruun going to do that, exactly?" Lina put a hand on Amelia's shoulder to stop her. "It seems to me that, with the situation the way things are, Seyruun's alliance is going to have to fall with Taforashia. Ralteague might see the alliance of such a large, powerful country with Taforashia as a threat. Not to mention, if Phil were to reveal that you were not kidnapped, but actually helping to harbor a Ralteague fugitive… things are going to go south really quickly."

"Ralteague may be too divided to put up a united front, though." Zelgadis murmured. "If it comes to light that I helped Lady Adelaide and Lina escape, my friend Dr. Wilson might end up taking my side, causing other academic branches of the government to doubt the validity of the Bureau of Investigation's claims."

"You're really that close?" Lina asked.

"Dr. Wilson and I go back a long time, well before he hired me. Well before I… uh…" Zelgadis' voice cut off. "Well, he knew me as a kid, so you can take that and run with it."

"Huh." Lina crossed her arms and smirked. "And here I thought you got this job off of pure talent."

"I _did-_"

"Now's not the time to be joking about things, Lina!" Pokota yelled, perching on her head to better be able to scold her. "This could cause major international turmoil! My country could be on the brink of war!"

Finally overcome with the emotion, Adelaide crumpled onto the floor with a burst of tears. "I-I'm so sorry… Prince, Princess… Sir Greywords… Gourry… Miss Lina… It's all my fault you and your countries are in such a mess! You've sacrificed so much on my behalf… I…"

Amelia, Pokota, and Gourry all moved toward the girl as though to comfort her, but Lina stopped them with a stern glare that was perfectly visible, even in the dim light.

"You're right. We _have_ sacrificed a lot on your behalf. We've made a commitment to you. Like it or not, there's no take-backs." Lina reached down and grabbed Adelaide by her necklace, tugging her back to her feet. The sorceress didn't let the height difference faze her- she'd learned plenty of tactics for intimidating people much taller than she was. "So, no matter what, we're supporting you. If we changed our minds, it could ruin our reputations. You have nothing to fear from us. You can be honest. If you're guilty you _must tell us now. _Do you understand?"

Adelaide took a deep breath and swallowed back tears. "I'm not guilty. I didn't do anything. I promise you_._"

Lina scrutinized the girl's expression for a moment and then turned around to look at one of her companions. "Gourry?"

Without hesitating, Gourry walked back and got between the two, grabbing hold of Adelaide's hand. "Say that again." he commanded.

"I'm innocent." Adelaide breathed. "I _promise_."

Gourry let go of her hand immediately and turned to the others. "She's telling the truth."

After a moment of silence, Lina nodded her head. "Then she's been framed. That's not your fault, Adelaide…" She paused before continuing "…unless there's someone you know of who'd want you in trouble with the law."

"I don't know anyone like that." Adelaide insisted.

"You sure? No hot-blooded rivals? No declared enemies? No ex-boyfriends?"

"No, no, and that accusation pisses me off." Adelaide shot back curtly.

"H-hey," Lina waved her hands innocently. "I was just trying to cover all my bases."

Adelaide shot a cursory glance over Lina's costume. "Yeah. They're covered alright."

"I think it would be obvious who's doing the framing!" Amelia interrupted, calling from the front of the group. "The mastermind behind these crimes is the mysterious Mister Abaddon, right? So wouldn't it make sense that Mister Abaddon is doing the framing?"

"Actually, I don't think so." Lina spoke up.

"Huh?"

"Here's the thing." Lina was still suffering from the constant dripping of water off the ceiling, and pulled the back of her cape over her head to shield her hair. "A thief or a murderer could easily frame someone for their crime after the fact. Plant some evidence, get the frame-ee arrested, and that would be that. The crime would've already taken place and the criminal would have profited with no repercussions. But in this situation, Abaddon's crimes are _still going on_. Abaddon would never frame someone for his current activities because that would bring them to light in the eyes of the law, making it easier for law enforcement to shut the whole operation down."

"So you're saying that someone framed Lady Adelaide to get to Abaddon?" Gourry asked.

"It's gotta be an enemy of Abaddon, then." Pokota piped up. "That's why the information given to Inspector Morrigan was to remain anonymous. Someone wants to get Abaddon in trouble without actually crossing him, so they're providing all the information about the crime and using Adelaide as a scapegoat in order to put a stop to it."

"So… the framers are good guys, then?" Amelia thought out loud.

Pokota's fur bristled as he growled in response. "There's _no way_ that somebody who frames an innocent person is a good guy!"

"If the framer is going to use Lady Adelaide as their scapegoat knowing that she's innocent, I doubt that it's justice that they're going for." Zelgadis offered. "If this Abaddon character is as bad as you say he is, then he's bound to have made quite a few enemies. It could be someone acting out of a personal grudge or a desire for revenge."

"Lady Adelaide, what do you know about Abaddon?" Lina asked.

"W-well…" Adelaide rubbed her bare arms as she walked in an attempt to warm them. "…I assume that _Abaddon _is a pen name, since no good criminal would send open correspondences with their real name signed in huge letters like those that my mother received. I don't even know if Abaddon is really a man."

Gourry raised his hand. "_Really a man_ meaning you don't know Abaddon's gender, or _really a man_ meaning… not human?"

Adelaide scowled. "Take your pick."

"Enough with what you don't know. We asked you what you do." Lina scolded. "What is Abaddon's objective? Is it suspiciously outside the realm of human desires- like, you think he may be a Mazoku?"

"I can't say. I don't think so." Adelaide shook her head. "Abaddon wants to combine both human and Mazoku powers together in one being… which has obviously been done before, but Abaddon wants to do it in such a way that the human side retains all memories, thought processes, and bodily autonomy. The Mazoku side is not to have any control over the being. It must be a purely human-controlled, Mazoku-powered creature."

"So that was the purpose of the Zanaffar armor?" Pokota gasped, flying over to rest on Adelaide's head.

"Yes, but it was a failure." Lina spoke before Adelaide could. "The Zanaffar obtained the memories of its host, but this was merely an add-on to its own consciousness. It was the Demon Beast's own consciousness that remained in control."

"Not Duclis." Pokota pointed out. "Because his transformation was interrupted in the process, his human consciousness remained intact."

"But what about the Zanaffar's power?" Amelia asked. "It's one thing to _look _like a Mazoku, but having the powers of one is something completely different."

"Well…"

"Um," Adelaide cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "I was trying to tell you, at the beginning, my mother wasn't studying Mazoku-human fusion. She was actually researching _Shinzoku-_human fusion."

"Really?" Zelgadis asked in reply. "What caused the 180-degree switch?"

"It was Abaddon. That's what I was getting at." the girl responded. "My mother had read many ancient texts about humans obtaining the power of the gods, and she lusted after the power herself. Abaddon somehow found out about my mother's experiments despite her best efforts to keep them hidden- from the clergy, mostly- and sent her a letter about it. He offered to fund her research and use his extensive network of spies to keep the experiments from prying eyes on the condition that she change her objective from Shinzoku power to Mazoku power."

"…and Gioconda agreed, figuring it didn't matter _what_ power she got her hands on, so long as it was power, right?" Lina finished.

"Mother was always looking for backers to fund her projects. She had very eccentric tastes, and preferred to use the tax money she received to furnish her libraries and galleries rather than throwing it all toward research. Any money she could get out of others, the better."

"We noticed that when we were going through her castle." Gourry muttered.

"It's interesting that Abaddon would have such a preference." Zelgadis murmured. "The desire to retain human sentience in a creature fueled by a Mazoku's power seems like the last thing a Mazoku would want."

Adelaide nodded. "Mother started small, with creatures that were not Mazoku, but whose astral sides most resembled those of Mazoku- Brau demons, for instance. Their magical capabilities are far beyond what humans can achieve while their bodies are weak and difficult to maintain, much in the way a Mazoku's astral energy forms merely a projection on the physical plane."

"Did she ever have success with the Brau demons?" Zelgadis inquired curiously.

"She did, but not before disposing of hundreds of failed test subjects."

"_Human _test subjects?" Amelia ventured.

"Many of them, yes."

Amelia shuddered with a squeal of distaste. "No way! How could she?"

"She must have had a lot of faith that the Zanaffar armor would work, given that she tried it on herself." Lina mused, thinking out loud. "A woman who obviously had such easy access to disposable test subjects wouldn't dare use herself unless she was sure it would work like she planned."

"Well, as she began working with more and more powerful Mazoku, the outcomes became harder to control." Adelaide explained. "My mother wrote to Abaddon asking if he could send some clerics in to keep the miasma in check, but he refused. He told her that he wanted White Magic to have no part in these experiments, and that if he found out that she'd hired clerics to work for her he would cut off all support for the project. He even threatened to reveal her to the authorities should she breach this agreement."

"I'm getting the feeling that there was no written contract between Mister Abaddon and Gioconda." Amelia spoke. "It seems like he simply threw money at her and expected her to comply with his wishes. Is this… a correct assumption, Miss Adelaide?"

"As far as I know."

"Then Abaddon could change his rules on her at any moment, and she'd be forced to comply. He'd have complete control over the situation." Pokota murmured. "Gioconda was too cunning of a woman to fall for that. There _must_ have been more to their agreement."

Adelaide shrugged. "I'm telling you all that I know, okay? I wasn't aware of most of what my mother did behind closed doors. I only know of the Abaddon project because of personal circumstances."

"_Personal circumstances_?" Lina pressed.

"It's… tough to explain. Can I just leave it at that?"

"For now." Lina replied. "We'll give you some time to think of a better way to put it."

With that, it was as though the conversation had unofficially ended. Adelaide fell back toward the back of the group, walking with her arms folded over one another to retain heat. Lina and Gourry started a conversation of their own, and Amelia slowed her pace down somewhat so that she could walk holding onto Zelgadis' hand.

"Amelia, this is not a date. We're in serious trouble here."

"I know that." she huffed. "But I thought I'd at least take comfort in what I know. And I know that, when we're together, we're safe."

Zelgadis gave an amused sigh, but didn't say anything in response, and _certainly _didn't pull his hand away from hers. Unable to figure out what to say next, Amelia began speaking again.

"To be honest with you… I was surprised when you took Miss Adelaide's side in all this. I thought you might be skeptical of her claims, but-"

"Oh, I'm skeptical as hell." Zelgadis shot back, and then lowered his voice as he realized that the tunnel echoed slightly. "I trust that Gourry has good intentions, but I still think Adelaide is lying to us."

"Wh-what? But then why are you here?" Amelia gasped, looking up at him in shock. "Why are you working with us? If you think she's guilty, then-"

"_Listen_." Zelgadis jerked Amelia closer. "That girl could be the most wanted criminal in the world for all I care. She's the _best damn lead_ I've found in all my years of searching for a cure. I'd be an idiot to let the law have their way with her. _That's _why I'm supporting you."

He released his grip on her arm, and Amelia took a wary step away from him, glancing instead to where Adelaide and Pokota were talking. She couldn't figure out what Zelgadis meant. A lead for… his cure?

Impossible, right?

"Hey, um, Your Highness…?" Adelaide murmured, glancing upward toward the little animal perched on her head. "I, uh, have a confession to make. Earlier today, with the rose, I… I was actually…"

"I know, I know." Pokota chuckled. "It wasn't for me, was it?"

"How did you know?"

"Not like it's hard to see how you looked at Lina…"

"I-It's not like that." Adelaide blushed. "Clearly she and Gourry are a thing, so I'd never try to get in between them. It was just that… when I ran into her earlier today, it was almost magical. It was like something straight out of a romance novel. I went through a disappointing breakup a few months ago, then I've been going through so much crap from the government, I just kinda wanted… a happy ending for once. Y'know?"

"I hear you." Pokota nodded his head. He plucked the rose out of his cloak tie and dangled it in front of Adelaide's face. "You want to give it to Lina?"

"No way. She has Gourry's rose, besides. She doesn't need mine. You keep it."

Pokota stared at the rose pensively for a moment and then took it and stuck it in the messy bun of hair on the back of Adelaide's head. "There. It looks nice on a redhead. Maybe not the one it was intended for, but all the same."

Adelaide laughed. "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Just call me Pokota, will you?"

"Oh." Adelaide's eyes widened as though the familiar address of a prince was something that she'd never considered before. "Alright, then. _Pokota_."


	9. If The Shoe Fits

As usual, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>9- If The Shoe Fits<strong>

"HOW COULD YOU ALLOW A DANGEROUS CRIMINAL INTO MY COUNTRY? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

"Y-Your Majesty, please. They didn't have enough evidence to arrest her at the time, and so there was no legal way they could restrict her movements."

"WHAT ABOUT LINA INVERSE? WHO LET _HER_ IN?"

"Sh-she was allowed in as an employee of the Ruvinigald Kingdom, I'm afraid-"

"RUVINIGALD THIS, RUVINIGALD THAT- DO THEY THINK MY COUNTRY IS JUST A PLAYGROUND FOR THEIR DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO DO WITH WHAT THEY WISH?"

"I'm sure it's not like that, Your Majesty. You have to understand-"

"I _UNDERSTAND_ THAT THE POWER OF LORD ZOAMELGUSTAR IS GOING TO SMITE THEM IF THEY DON'T HURRY TO MAKE THIS RIGHT."

Inspector Morrigan and Meg could hear the queen's angry yelling from their spot in the hallway. The queen had demanded the presence of those responsible for the explosion in the park that had damaged the fountain and hurt the poor little prince's ears. A royal guard insisted that he go in first to calm the queen down before letting any outsiders into the conference room, but he didn't seem to be having much luck. There was the sound of a young child crying down the hallway where the king and prince had retreated to avoid the queen's wrath, but against the queen's yelling it was almost impossible to hear.

"What's going to happen to us?" Meg asked nervously. "She sounds really angry."

"It can't be considered our fault." Morrigan gave a stern reply that was just as much for his sake as for Meg's. "We merely did our job. It was Lina Inverse who caused the ruckus- she's the one to blame."

"We were the ones who hired her in the first place." Meg pointed out. "You agreed to pay a lot of money to get her here."

Morrigan clenched his eyes shut in anger. "I don't understand. Inspector Freion said that she'd be an invaluable part of our team."

"You don't think he knew that this would happen, do you?"

"Of course not! Inspector Freion would never set me up for failure!" Morrigan insisted. He hugged his knees to his chest tightly. "That… wouldn't make any sense…"

"It's hard to know who to trust, isn't it?"

"I'm sure there was some sort of... calculated error." Morrigan murmured fervently. "There had to be. Inspector Freion just didn't know this would happen..."

Meg gently tapped his shoulder. "I thought you told me that Inspector Freion never makes mistakes."

"He doesn't!"

"Then we can only assume that he was trying to sabotage your case-"

"_NO_!" Morrigan flinched, drawing away from the girl. "Don't say that. He wouldn't. He doesn't make mistakes, but there's no way he'd sabotage me either."

Meg pressed her lips together pensively for a moment. "It seems to me that you're going to have to pick one or the other."

"No, no, no, no!" Morrigan's voice cracked as he spoke and he buried his head in his knees. "I don't know what to think. I don't know what to do. Maybe they were right- maybe I am too young to handle a case like this on my own. I thought I could prove myself, but-"

"It seems to me that now is the time that you can _really_ prove yourself." Meg spoke, placing a hand on his shoulder. Morrigan lifted his head and looked over at her.

"Huh?"

"Think about it. If you still manage to arrest Lady Adelaide after all that's happened, you'll have done what might be impossible for even some of the veteran detectives. No one will ever doubt your ability again- you might even be promoted."

Morrigan thought it over for a moment, his eyes widening in realization. "Meg..." he murmured breathlessly, "that's it! That has to be it! Inspector Freion would never sabotage my mission to hurt me, but if he sabotaged my mission with the intent of testing my skills, it would help me to both grow as a detective and to put to rest all the claims about my age and inexperience."

"Um, I'm not sure that's-" Meg reached out to him, but Morrigan had already stood up and was yelling at the wall.

"I'm sorry for ever doubting you, Inspector Freion! I won't let you down! I'll arrest Lady Adelaide and Lina Inverse and make you proud!"

"Inspector, please stop yelling. The queen might hear you and get even angrier about this whole-"  
>"Excuse me. Are you waiting to see the queen?"<p>

A voice from behind them caught the pair's attention. Meg stood up so that she could greet the man who was approaching them from down the hallway.

"Yes; we were told to wait in the hallway. Who are you?"

"I'm one of the representatives of Seyruun." The man bowed politely, but the expression on his face was uneasy and impatient. "I came to see if the queen had heard anything from Princess Amelia."

"Princess Amelia?" Meg turned to Morrigan. "Wasn't she the young woman with Prince Posel at the park this afternoon?"

"The park? That's where the commotion this afternoon was coming from, wasn't it?" The representative's eyes took on a look of panic. "We haven't seen or heard from Princess Amelia since the incident this afternoon. She didn't meet us at the appointed time and place, which is odd for her. She's _always_ punctual. When we tried to search for her, we found nothing. She told us this morning that she was going to spend the day with her friend Prince Posel, but we can't find him either."

"Come to think of it, Sir Greywords seems to have disappeared too." Meg spoke to Morrigan. "He told us that he was going to pursue Miss Lina and Lady Adelaide, but he hasn't returned. Do you think he's still searching for them?"

"Excuse me," the Seyruun representative interrupted, "are you talking about Sir _Zelgadis_ Greywords and Miss Lina_ Inverse_?"

"Yes." Morrigan nodded in reply. "How did you-"

"They're both personal friends of Princess Amelia's and Prince Posel's. Both have been traveling companions of the princess before, and Sir Greywords was appointed by crown Prince Philionel as her personal bodyguard for a time. There's a rumor that Sir Greywords and the princess are lovers. It wouldn't be beyond the realm of imagination to assume that she followed him, especially if she believed that a dear friend had succumbed to the forces of evil." He averted his gaze and muttered "...not that Miss Lina wasn't halfway there already..."

"You don't think that Princess Amelia and Prince Posel tried to take matters into their own hands, do you?" Meg gasped. "This is no place for royalty to get involved."

"What about Gourry? He disappeared too." Morrigan pointed out. "If we're creating a list of missing persons, we can't forget him-"

"Wherever Miss Lina is, that's where Mister Gabriev will be." Meg cut him off. "That type of man is fiercely loyal to the person he loves. He'll follow her to the depths of hell so long as it means he can stay by her side."

"What are we going to do?" The representative clasped his hands over his face. "The crown prince will have our heads if we return to Seyruun City without the princess."

"Don't worry." Morrigan assured him. "The Ruvinigald Bureau of Investigation is handling the situation. We'll make finding Princess Amelia and Prince Posel a priority."

"Prince Posel came to Zoana alone." Meg added. "It might be best to send a correspondence to Taforashia, so that they don't come looking when their prince doesn't return when he said he would."

"This is becoming more complicated than I thought." Morrigan crossed his arms and stared at the carpet. "But that only means that there's more information to work with. We _will _find them- all of them."

* * *

><p>The group briefly surfaced in Selmatt, getting some fresh air if not sunlight. It was dark already, but Zelgadis insisted that they weren't far enough away to stay the night. He wanted them to at least reach Ralteague, which would be another seven or eight kilometers to the west. No one was happy, but no one argued either.<p>

By the time they actually reached Ralteague, it was past midnight, and the group opted to make camp outside of the city they'd surfaced near rather than go in and face suspicion for coming in so late at night. There was no telling how fast word of Adelaide's escape would spread outside of Zoana, and it was best to lie low for the moment, it seemed.

Adelaide was relieved to get back aboveground. She had been cold in the tunnels, and though Zelgadis had offered her his cloak- at Amelia's urging- she'd refused. The late summer air was a great relief, though Adelaide wasn't at all used to sleeping on the ground and wasn't sure what to make of the situation.

"So we're… not going to an inn?" she asked, watching the others starting a fire.

"No." Zelgadis answered.

"We're just staying… _here_?"

"Yes." Amelia offered a smile.

"We're… sleeping on th-the ground? With the _dirt _and the _bugs_?"

Pokota jumped over and perched on the girl's head. "You've really never done this before, have you?"

"I went camping with a, uh, _friend_ once before, but it was nothing like this." Adelaide shook her head, forgetting that Pokota was sitting on it and nearly throwing him off. "Oops!"

"Well, then," Lina chuckled. "welcome to being on the run from the law. You'll get to sleep on the ground, eat fish guts, and complain about your aching feet 24/7. It's great fun- trust me. I've done it more than once."

Adelaide glanced sadly at her shoes that she'd set aside- high heels not made for walking any sort of distance- and then down at the red marks they'd left on her feet. "I'm going to need a better pair of shoes."

"Don't worry. I'm in the same situation." Amelia replied, tugging at her dress. "I didn't come to this event dressed for traveling."

"We'll find a place in town tomorrow to get you two some new clothes." Zelgadis spoke up. "Lina, Gourry and I will go to buy them. You two will need to stay out here with Pokota to avoid being recognized."

"That sounds fair." Amelia nodded and turned to Adelaide for support. Adelaide didn't look particularly happy about it, but nodded anyway.

"We'll need to get your measurements too, just to make sure that we don't buy you something you can't wear." Lina added.

"Of course. Give me something to write them down on." Adelaide replied. Zelgadis dug into his bag and pulled out a notepad, holding it out towards her. Adelaide reached for it, but then hesitated before touching it. "C-can I just-"

"Take it."

"Okay."

The stiffness in her shoulders relaxed as she opened the notebook to an empty page and hurriedly began writing down numbers with a pencil that Gourry had handed her. Lina was busy tending to the fire, but since she'd been the one to ask for the measurements, she was the one Adelaide handed them to.

"I wrote everything down, along with some of the colors I prefer to wear. I like green the best because it complements my hair, but dark blue is good too, and please don't get me anything yellow-"

"Listen," Lina interrupted. "you're tall. It's sometimes tough to find clothes for tall women in little villages like this. You'll take what we can get you, okay?"

"Y-yes." Adelaide lowered her head in embarrassment.

The next few minutes were quiet. Gourry, Amelia, and Pokota had fallen asleep, Gourry with his back against a tree, Pokota curled up in a patch of grass close to Adelaide, and Amelia draped over Zelgadis' shoulder. Adelaide began untying her hair, removing the rose and a handful of pins, the latter of which she placed in her clutch purse. Letting her hair comfortably over her shoulders, she picked up the rose and examined it. It showed signs of damage from their earlier escapades, a few petals having turned brown and beginning to fall off. Inexplicably, Adelaide found herself in tears.

"Hey. Are you okay over there?" That was Lina's voice. Adelaide looked up and wiped the tears from her face.

"S-sorry about that. I was thinking too much."

"About what?"

"It's nothing."

"You're crying over _nothing_?" Lina raised an eyebrow. She didn't have Gourry's fantastic lie-detecting powers, but even she could identify an _obvious_ lie.

"I was just thinking about how these flowers were intended to be given as gifts. They're to be put in vases or used as adornments for fancy accessories. Now this one's all trampled. We don't have a vase to put it in, and it's going to die-"

"Sorry to burst your little bubble, but it's dead already. It's been cut. Putting it in a vase isn't going to bring it back to life. You know that, right?"

Adelaide was silent.

"What do they teach you in those boarding schools anyway? I thought you graduated top of your class."

"I did." Adelaide replied curtly. "I'm smarter than that. I promise. I'm just tired and confused right now. I can't think straight." There was a pause, and she muttered to herself "…not that I can think straight when I'm awake, but..."

"No, no, I think I'm getting the idea." Lina waved one hand back and forth. "You're upset because you're afraid the dying flower represents your life as the consequences of the crimes you've committed encroach upon it."

"But I haven't committed any crimes." Adelaide protested.

"Good. You swordsmen can be awfully dense at times, but your reflexes are top-notch. I was unsure about whether you were telling the truth earlier, but you don't seem like the kind to lie."

Adelaide glanced at the ground. "Thanks. It's good to hear that for a change."

"Can one of you hand me my notebook?" Zelgadis spoke up. "I want to record everything that's happened so far, but I..." His voice trailed off and he pointed to Amelia. "...I can't move."

"Here you go." Lina picked the book up and held it out for Zelgadis to take. She noticed that he hesitated slightly before he grabbed it. Her mouth turned up into a pensive frown and she spoke again. "Is there a problem with that book or something? Why is everyone so afraid to touch it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Adelaide was scared to grab it from you, and you hesitated before taking it from me. What's the deal?"

"It's not the book." Zelgadis replied.

"Then what _is_ it?"

Zelgadis glanced over at Adelaide, and she fidgeted with her hands uneasily. "I-it's nothing." she responded.

"Adelaide and I just aren't touchy people. You understand, right?"

Lina narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?"

"_Zel_."

The accusatory tone was enough to make him notice that Amelia was still resting on his shoulder. "Oh. Right. W-well, that's different."

"Whatever." Lina groaned, rolling her eyes. "Do whatever weird things you guys want. I don't care. Just so long as you're not insulting me-"

"Insult you? _Never_."

"That sounds suspiciously like sarcasm, Zel."

"Sarcasm? What's that?"

Lina shook her head. She picked up her cape and settled down in a comfortable spot near the fire. "It's late. Just go to sleep, okay?"

No one spoke for a long while. Eventually it was obvious that Lina had fallen asleep by the way her breathing changed. Gourry had been snoring loudly for a period of time, but he'd quieted down some in the past few minutes. Zelgadis was still writing in his notebook, and Adelaide cleared her throat to get his attention.

"What is it?" He didn't even look up from his writing.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For... not saying anything to Lina."

"I was just thinking of myself." He responded, finishing up his entry and putting the notebook away. "If I could pass for a normal human, I wouldn't want anyone revealing me without my permission."

"Still, thanks." Adelaide smiled slightly. "I was afraid of you at first, but you're actually pretty nice."

"Not nice." Zelgadis shot back. "I want in."

Adelaide's head whipped around toward him abruptly. "E-excuse me?"

"Your plan. Whatever it is you're searching for at Chateau Augustine, I want in. I want to be a normal human as much as you do, and if you're after something that can cure you, I want it too."

"Okay."

"_Okay_?"

"What am I supposed to say?"

"I-I don't know." Zelgadis stammered. "I guess I expected you to make it a little more difficult for me. Ask something of me, refuse my request- something."

"Mister Greywords, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Zelgadis shrugged. "I'll be honest. I think you're a criminal."

"Okay."

"Again with the _okay_?"

Adelaide tilted her head slightly. "If you still think I'm a criminal after all I've said, there's really nothing more I can say. I'll just have to prove I'm innocent through my actions."

"That's an interesting thought." Zelgadis smirked. "You remind me of myself, in a way."

"How so?"

"Well, you seem to be a logical person who hides their insecurities under a layer of sarcasm and dry wit. That's one thing."

"You think my wit is dry?"

"It's certainly not Gourry's brand of humor."

Adelaide let out a sigh. "I guess I'll have to hear some of his jokes tomorrow."

"You'll either bust a gut laughing or want to punch him in the face."

"The best kind of humor is both."

Zelgadis yawned and glanced up at the sky. "It is, isn't it?"


End file.
